MOTU: Horde War BK 3: Hellfire
by Deltara
Summary: Colonel Markson's mission to Planet Eternia is a success, but his discovery is chilling. HeMan, many of the Masters, and SheRa and company are alive, but they have been left to rot on the remote planet aptly named Hel. COMPLETE
1. Dedication

Dedicated in loving memory to Carole Urbano, 28 Aug 1945 - 10 Jan 2004. Little did you know what a wonderful and adventurous path you would lead me on, and share with me, way back in 1977 with the first movie I ever remember seeing. Star Wars. The rest, as they say, is history. You left us all too soon. Mom, wherever you are, this one's for you.


	2. Dramatis Personae

Dramatis Personae

Guardians

Adrian Cobretti – War Wing armor (American) (Weapons: plasma canon, beam sabers)

Sonya Broradni – Hawk armor (Russian) (Weapon: beam spear naginato-do)

Jake Rockwell – Gatling Arm armor (American) (Weapons: twin-barreled gatling canons, vibro blade)

Brad Johnson – Claw armor (German) (Weapons: twin vibro scimitars)

Jeromy Ironwood – Blitzkrieg armor (British) (Weapons: 2 laser rifles)

Sorceress of Grayskull – Falcon armor (Eternian) (Weapons: enhanced magic, falcon staff, psionic lance)

STARSHIP ETERNIA

Colonel Jo-jo Majourny – captain

Lt. Conner 'Ace' McCloud – helmsman

Ensign Comorov – navigation

Lt. Novina Satori – science specialist

Lt. Alexandra Callahan – computer systems specialist

Lt Harvey 'Harley' Denton – tactical specialist

Lt. Rodney Santana – chief engineer

Lt. Commander Emilio Carter – chief medical officer

Guardian Command

Brigadier General Eugene 'Mean Gene' Hammond – commander

Nicholas 'Nick' Jackson – Research and Development Division Chief

Gabriel 'Gabe' Burns – Research and Development Section Leader

Blain Robards – Chief Scientific Research Specialist

Doctor Susan Blanchard – Guardian Command Chief Surgeon

Colonel Jonathon Markson – Guardian Force commander, Alpha Platoon commander

Captain Hohiro Takamora – Charlie Platoon commander

Masters of the Universe

He-man – Most powerful man in the universe

She-ra – He-man's sister – most power woman in the universe

Frosta – Queen of Etherian Ice Region

Castaspella – Ruler of Mysticore

Ram Man

Man-E-Faces

Peek-a-blue

Stratos – Ruler of Avion

Queen Angella – Ruler of Bright Moon

Glimmer – Daughter of Queen Angella

The Horde

Commander Xinder – Commander of penal planet called Hel

General Rongar – Commander of the Horde 5th Fleet

Sagan – Rongar's chief scientist

Others

Lady Moria Vadorian - Fourteenth Monarch of the Dereskígía

Queen Elmora – Ruler of Planet Phantos

King Randor – Deposed ruler of Eternia

Skeletor – Ruler of Snake Mountain

Anyssa – Val-kyrie warrior

Dhalon – Quaedian warrior


	3. Prologue

**BOOK THREE**

**HELLFIRE**

PROLOGUE

Deep Space

13 June 2017

A gigantic warship drifted lifelessly through the void. It had been silent and dead for centuries, but now something awoke the ancient vessel's computer. One by one, systems began powering up, starting with a structural integrity check of the hull. The hull had not faired well drifting through interstellar space. Thousands of breaches littered the armored plates. Many compartments were open to vacuum, but none were beyond repair. And none were close to the inner chambers where the crew slept.

Lights slowly illuminated in main corridors, radiating outward from the central chambers to the engineering decks, environmental control, and the bridge. Once the integrity of these passages was assured, breathable atmosphere flooded the spaces, followed by the heaters powering up. It took almost a day to complete these simple****tasks, which, under normal circumstances, would have taken just a few hours. The machinery had lain dormant for so long that the computer wanted to be certain nothing shorted out from proceeding too quickly. That would lead to disaster for the carefully laid-out plan that had begun generations ago.

Once the conditions reached the low end of the habitable zone, a special chamber came alive with light. There were two hatches in this room. One lead into the network of corridors connecting the other currently revived parts of the ship, and the other opened into a very special chamber that had to remain powered even at the expense of shutting down other suspension chambers, if it came to that.

Seven capsules slowly revived their humanoid occupants. After a cautious hour, seals cracked with a hiss of escaping gasses and equalizing pressures, and seven transparent lids hummed as the pistols pushed them up. One by one, the seven sleepers awoke, stretched muscles that had been dormant for far too long, dressed, ate their first meal in centuries, and set about the task of bringing their ship back to life.

Six of them were gathered on the bridge when the seventh arrived, dressed in space-black armor that did not hinter his movements in slightest, standing an imposing six-foot-three inches in height, and looking not the slightest bit fatigued after centuries of sleeping, Lord Malkor swept the dead consoles with glowing red eyes.

"My Lord," Cilian greeted her commander formally, voice echoing in the silent chamber.

"What is our status?" Malkor demanded, all business. His voice had the same echoing quality indicative of his race.

"System restoration is slow, but progressing," Cilian answered. "We should be able to start up the main engines in the next day or so."

"Do we have a status yet on the fleet?" Malkor asked.

"Not yet. Sensors are still unreliable," Cilian replied, fearful of her lord's response.

Malkor merely listened to all the reports, filing them away in his memory for later review. Finally, he asked if they knew what caused the computer to start the revival of the ship's crew.

Rathon nodded and punched up the recordings stored in the undamaged section of the computer core. "It appears the sensor net spread throughout the galaxy was just as resilient as our scientists predicted. These scans were received over a day ago from a star system on the other side of the galaxy."

"What planet is that?" Lord Malkor demanded as the image files ran.

An intense battle was being waged both in space, and on the surface around an ancient stone castle.

"Planet Eternia," Rathon reported.

"Eternia," Malkor said to himself. "Eternia." His eyes bulged suddenly and he lost a bit of his stony composure at the sight of six armored warriors. Malkor loudly commanded the computer to pause the playback. "Are those what I think they are?"

Rathon nodded, "Yes, My Lord. Computer analysis confirms they are the lost suits of power armor. They have been found and revived."

"So the time has come at last," Lord Malkor mused. "We must step up the revival of all remaining vessels as soon as possible."

The others knew when meetings with their lord were at an end. Cilian remained at her lord's side while the others set about their tasks.

"At last, we will rebuild our Alliance, and reveal ourselves to Horde Prime," Cilian stated quietly. "At last, we will have our revenge."

Lord Malkor grunted in agreement.

Near the Val-kyrie Border

15 June 2017

Two starships chased one another through the endless, starlit void of space. The smaller ship in the lead was the hunted, trying desperately to escape the hunters. It was a compact starship, over-powered and heavily armed for its size. Yet, in spite of its size and maneuverability, the compact ship could not evade its immense pursuer.

The hunter was a Val-kyrie _Battlestar_-class warship. A powerful capital ship; the Battlestar had side-mounted landing bays on either side of the main hull to launch and recover one-hundred and fifty _Bladewing_-class fighters. Twin plasma canons sprouted from the forward sloping ends of the landing bays, two canons were mounted in the canyon-like recesses under the angular bow, and a pair of secondary canons protruded from the bow's sloping sides. Additionally, sixty laser batteries were strewn across the hull for anti-spacecraft fighter suppression along with four torpedo tubes fore and aft.

Zilth monitored the rear scanners, a worried expression plastered on her beautiful features. "They're getting closer," she warned her companion sitting in the pilot's seat.

Plasma bolts started sizzling past the fleeing ship. Some came close enough to graze the shields. Blinding flashes from proximity blasts lit the cockpit, and the shockwaves caused the ship to pitch and yaw.

"Thank you, Zilth," the pilot replied through clenched teeth. "I can see that. The hyperdrive has been overloaded by the hits to the shields. Damned shoddy bypass."

"I warned you about that months ago," Zilth chided.

"I didn't expect to be running for my life from a Val-kyrie Battlestar, either," the one-eyed man shot back.

The ship lurched from several more proximity explosions. The control yoke literally jumped out of the man's hands when a direct hit impacted somewhere in the rear quarter. Several more plasma bolts struck in rapid succession, sending the ship into a tumble and killing the primary power grid. Acrid smoke from several fried power couplings drifted into the cockpit through the open hatch.

"Now we're in for it," Zilth groused.

"Stop worrying. I haven't done anything to them lately. We've been leaving one another alone for months."

"Well, you must have done something they don't like. Woke up alive today, maybe," Zilth replied without humor.

A tug pulled up in front of the stricken starship, attacked tow lines, and began dragging the ship toward the Val-kyrie warship, which had taken up position in front of both spacecraft. The tug angled in toward the portside landing bay, followed the core controller's directions, and towed the disabled ship in for a less than gentle landing deep in the bay.

Zilth and her companion left the cockpit once their ship was down. They checked their side arms, and took up station several paces from the starboard airlock. The pair did not have long to wait.

A detachment of female warriors had been dispatched to the landing bay once the target had been disabled. They waited until the ship was safely down and then advanced on the starboard airlock. A squad moved in on the portside airlock just in case the crew tried to escape that way.

The detachment leader gave a curt nod and a warrior stepped forward, punched the airlock controls, and stepped back. They waited while the lock equalized the air pressures and cycled open. The female warriors, laser rifles at the ready, charged into the captured ship, quickly securing the immediate area. It didn't take long to find the only two crewmembers on board.

Zilth looked more than a little nervous. Whatever was going on, she figured her one-eyed companion was in real trouble this time.

The leader of the Val-kyrie detachment looked the pair over with a penetrating stare. "So we finally caught up to you, bounty hunter."

"Looks that way. I'm honored that the mighty Val-kyrie would send an entire Battlestar after me. What's the occasion?" the bounty hunter replied conversationally.

"Retirement," the Val-kyrie leader answered, voice dripping with disdain.

The bounty hunter shook his head ruefully. "I'm still in the prime of my life. I'm not ready to kick back on some backwater planet and reminisce about the past. Not yet, anyway."

The smile plastered on the bounty hunter's face gradually disappeared when it became apparent the Val-kyrie warriors were not buying the act. The female commander leveled her laser pistol, took careful aim, and fired. The hunter flinched involuntarily at the discharge, but was amazed at how painless the impact was. That was because he was not the target.

A stunned Zilth dropped to her knees before toppling face-first to the cold metal deck. The one-eyed hunter's features cycled from shock to disbelief to venomous outrage.

"What was that for?" he demanded angrily. "She's done nothing to you!"

"Like I said, bounty hunter, it's your retirement," the female leader answered.

The man tried to protest, but he never got a word out before the laser pistol fired again. Twice.

Lieutenant Cirik holstered her weapon and plucked a comlink from her belt. "Cirik to Commander Fontaine."

On the bridge, Commander Fontaine tapped a control on the left arm of her command chair. "Go ahead," she replied.

"Objective complete. Ship is cleared for the next phase," Cirik reported.

"Understood," Commander Fontaine answered, closing the channel at the touch of a button. Over her should, she issued orders to her First Officer. "Send in the repair teams. I want that ship up and running as soon as possible."

"Aye, Commander," the First Officer replied, and set about calling the teams waiting on standby.

Commander Fontaine turned to the communications officer. "Send a coded message to Anyssa telling her that we have secured the target and will deliver as soon as possible." As the woman formed the message for transmission, Fontaine leaned back in her chair, crossed one shapely, muscled leg over the other, and reflected on the operation that was about to take place.

4


	4. Ch 01

ONE

Guardian Command

Area 51, United States, Earth

19 June 2017

A briefing was called first thing in the morning to discuss the lasted intelligence reports, and to discuss preparations for the Guardian Force's next mission. General Hammond presided over the meeting, but it was Gabriel Burns who gave the lecture. In attendance were: Colonel Simmons, Nicholas Jackson, Blain Robards, Doctor Susan Blanchard, Colonel Markson, and Captain Takamora.

At the end of the conference room, opposite from General Hammond, a white screen had been lowered for the slideshow presentation. Gabe checked that the computer was running, the right files and folders were accessible, and that the remote functioned. He began at a nod from Hammond.

"The Val-kyrie have been uncharacteristically prompt and free with intelligence on the target planet. This amazes even Anyssa because there seems to be some internal strife within their political structure. Anyssa called in some favors and we have enough information to start formulating a plan," Gabe explained.

He called up the first few slides, showing detailed scans of a small sector of space. They displayed the map of a solar system deep in Horde space about 10 light-years from the galactic edge. Total distance from Earth was more then twelve light-years away. It would take _Eternia_ almost a week at maximum speed to get there. The system was toward the rear area of the known Horde occupation zone, which put it close to Earth in galactic terms, but also put it very far away from the only route a secret rescue mission would have to take.

A somewhat grainy picture appeared on the screen of a planet that was colored a deeper red then Mars on a good day.

"Take a good look," Gabe continued. "We believe you are looking at the most detailed image anyone has even taken of the planet Hel. There is a narrow temperate zone at the equator were the prison population exists. The rest of the planet is virtually uninhabitable due to seismic activity and wildly unpredictable weather patterns. Here," Gabe aimed a laser pointer at a spot on the left side of a surface image "is the Horde garrison. The image isn't the best quality, but we have surmised that the structure is at least half the size of Palace Phantos. They provide what little food and drinkable water that exists on the planet. Some food is rumored to be grown there, but those rumors have yet to be confirmed.

"Ironically, two days after the Battle for Castle Grayskull ended, the Val-kyire decided to put to an end the career of one of the most dangerous bounty hunters currently roaming the stars." Gabe punched up a new slide depicting a rather angry one-eyed man. "He goes by the name Cobra. He has a reputation for cold ruthlessness, yet he has a fair and almost respectable quality about him. He was captured with a traveling companion, which works to our advantage." Gabe gestured for Nick to take over.

Nick cleared his throat and took up the briefing. "Our first plan called for the impersonator to kidnap the Sorceress from Castle Grayskull and use her as the means for making a trip into Horde space to the penal planet. The latest intelligence relayed to us through Anyssa suggests that knowledge of Cobra's companion was commonplace, but no specifics beyond that. This situation works to our favor as our imposter won't have to make the trip to Hel alone. And although the kidnapping was the Sorceress' idea, scrapping that plan came as a relief to her."

"Why do I get the feeling the impersonators for these people have already been chosen?" Colonel Simmons interrupted pointedly.

"Because of the bounty hunter's reputation and the information we have, there are limits to who can successfully impersonate them. There are few who have ever met this man face-to-face, but there _have_ been meetings. Our man will have to pass himself off as a convincing replacement," Nick explained knowing where this line of questioning was headed.

"Who are the impersonators?" Simmons demanded.

Nick glanced at General Hammond, who reluctantly nodded.

Against his better judgment, Nick told the colonel what he wanted to know.

A falcon wheeled high about the Nevada desert, drifting lazily with the air currents. It had been far too long since she had last flown freely without purpose. She squawked from time to time, marveling at sound of her voice. Sharp eyes picked out surface features hundreds of feet below with crystal clarity.

Zoar's keen sight picked out a tiny object weaving along a track up a small mountain. Sorceress knew this was part of the trails some base personnel traveled on mountain bikes. Considering the time of day and the current duty schedule, Sorceress knew of only a few people who would be out this late in the morning; Jake Rockwell, Corporal Antone Frost, Captain Hohiro Takamora, who was currently in a high-level briefing, and Adrian Cobretti.

Sorceress knew Jake was in the cavernous research bay going over Gatling Arm's systems with Gabe's tech crew. Jake and Gatling Arm had been at odds the past few days because their personalities were so much alike. Jake was going to have to find a middle ground and make peace with the armor. Sorceress suspected it still harbored bad feelings over being treated like nothing more than a machine.

The Guardians now knew they were intelligent machines, but their new owners could not have known. They seemed to take for granted that their human operators had already known all there was to know about the – for lack of a better term – living weapons. The machines and operators were going to have to learn to work together in this, which wouldn't be easy. The suits of armor had evolved into intelligent beings through the memory engrams that had been downloaded into them over a century ago. The only basis for developing their own personalities had been those engrams. Now they had to find their own way once more, with the help of their new operators. In Jake's case, it was certainly turning out to be a painful growth. Rumor had it that Brad and Jeromy were having similar problems, though their problems were not as severe as Rockwell's.

The Sorceress wished them well, for the other Guardians were staying out of it despite the tendency for the six suits to share information independently.

Corporal Frost had left over the weekend for Quantico, Virginia to brush up on his sniper skills. Corporal Dietrich, Beta Squad's sniper, was already there. The pair was enhancing their skills for concealment and stealth, and they were going to test Gabe's improvements to their sniper rifle designs.

That left only Adrian as the likely bike rider. Zoar expanded her telepathic sense briefly to touch the rider's mind without his or her knowing. Normally, Sorceress refrained from doing so, even if the subject was unaware, out of respect for the privacy of those around her. A moment was all it took to confirm that it was Adrian on the trails, and he was totally engrossed in the challenge of navigating the paths. He seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Zoar was enjoying her flight.

A splotch of green off to Zoar's left drew her attention away from the rider. The falcon shifted the angle of her wings and tail to swing around for a better look. She lost altitude while aiming for an imaginary intersection point in the air to get closer to the object. It was a dropship lifting off and cruising toward the mountains where Adrian was riding. It was too distant for him to hear the whine of its atmospheric engines, and the wind was in his face blowing the sounds away from him.

Either someone was about to pull a stupid stunt, which no one dared do with multi-million dollar pieces of equipment under General Hammond's command, or something was wrong. Either way, Zoar dipped her wings, angled away from the speeding craft, and dove for the mountain. She made sure to keep a healthy distance from the ship. Getting sucked into an intake would be embarrassing, if she survived to tell about it.

Colonel Simmons exploded, "This is insane! You are going to send a pair who have never been on an intelligence mission to a planet where even a soldier with twenty years of experience wouldn't go."

"They match the physical characteristics of height, weight, and stature of the real bounty hunter and his female companion," Nick argued.

Simmons turned on Colonel Markson. "I know you and I have never agreed on anything, but surely even you can see this is a disaster waiting to happen."

Jon shrugged his shoulders. "Looks to me like we don't have a whole lot of options. The kidnapping plan the Sorceress proposed is iffy at best. And don't call me Shirley," he added, never missing a chance to tweak Simmons.

Several people, including General Hammond, had to stifle a chuckle as Markson's off-hand joke.

"Either way, the plan still calls for the bounty hunter, calling himself the Cobra, to go to the penal planet," Gabe pointed out.

"I'm still not convinced this is a smoking hot idea," Simmons scoffed.

"I am,' General Hammond stepped in. "Despite your reservations about his mental state after being subjected to a Horde mind sifter, he is the only choice we have. And I have the utmost confidence that he can play the part of this bounty hunter probably better than the real man could."

"Despite what you see in him, General, he has gotten more surly and unpredictable since the mission to Eternia," Simmons said, adding, "And his attitude is borderline unprofessional, even insubordinate, at times."

"Only when you are around," Colonel Markson replied honestly. "I feel the same way in your presence."

Doctor Blanchard cleared her throat. "I have run every test I can think of on him. He passed the psychological evaluation with flying colors. If anything, I'd say his old personality, buried after the attack on Edwards Air Force Base and the fallout afterward, is starting to re-emerge."

Markson and Simmons renewed their argument, forcing General Hammond to clamp down on the bickering before it got out of hand by warning both men to tone it down. He gestured for Nick to continue.

"Given Cobra's travels in the past several years, and the known reports of him personally delivering a few of He-man's companions to Hel, we have an excellent chance of our team infiltrating the planet to locate the survivors of He-man's and She-ra's groups, and get them out. Despite the size of the cargo compartment the Val-kyrie indicated is in the bounty hunter's ship, it isn't large enough for our purposes. And even if it was, the life support systems could not handle the strain.

"Therefore, we need to infiltrate a team using that cargo bay. That team will spread out through the Horde base in search of the transport assigned to the garrison. That, gentlemen, is how we will spirit He-man, She-ra, and any of their surviving allies away," Nick concluded his part of the briefing, and took his seat next to Gabe.

Blain Robards shook his head. "For the sake of the argument, let's say the team pulls off the impossible and manages to get off the planet in the transport and the bounty hunter ship. How are they going to keep the garrison from shooting them down?"

"We're still looking into that," Gabe answered. "It will have to be something big. An event big enough to distract the Horde by giving them something more important to worry about."

"Which is?" Colonel Markson prodded.

"That's what the team will have to work out, though we have a few ideas," Gabe promised.

"Even if they get away from the planet, the Horde will likely call in every available ship," Blain pointed out. "They will pounce like a pack of wolves."

"Then we will just have to be sure there are bigger wolves standing by," Captain Takamora interjected.

"Bottom line, people," General Hammond said, stepping in, "is we require only two things from the crew of the bounty hunter's ship; that they carry off the image of a hunter and his female companion, and that they fly that ship like the Devil and his accomplice."

"So it boils down to the fact that there are only two people, in your opinion, who can effectively play the part, General?" Colonel Simmons stated unnecessarily.

"The decision has been made. The Val-kyrie will deliver the Cobra's starship as soon as they repair it. Our people will train hard and fast to get up to speed with the skills they will need, and then they will launch sometime around the end of this month," General Hammond declared.

"Yes, but do they know they volunteered for this?" Simmons asked, pointedly.

"The Sorceress volunteered to play the role of companion rather than prisoner," Gabe answered. "As for Adrian…"

Adrian powered along the thin, dirt trail at break-neck speeds. Powerful legs pumped the mountain bike's pedals as he swayed side to side in rhythm, churning up as much momentum as possible going up the hill. Weaving and bobbing among the underbrush, Adrian focused all his attention on the path ahead.

None of his usual riding companions had yet made the entire round trip in one piece. He, Jake, Antone, and Hohiro each cracked up somewhere along the way more times than they cared to keep track of. There were a few tricky twists and turns they still had to master. Other times, their ride was cut short by a dropship sent out to fetch them.

Adrian fervently hoped this would not be one of those times. Today was a high-level meeting he was not invited to, and so it was such a nice day, Adrian thought it a good day to finally conquer the dirt course.

The rocky summit that was the halfway point gradually drew closer. Adrian slowed his pace a bit as he entered an easier stretch that had a more gradual slope. He twisted his head to catch the tube from the water pack strapped to his back, and sucked up a few mouthfuls of water. He planned to stop at the summit to take in the view of the valley in which the concealed base lay.

As the kilometers clicked off, Adrian took the time to look around since there were no obstructions to worry about in this section. A bird wheeled about in the mid morning sunshine, using the drafts at higher altitudes to remain aloft. An unusual sound drifted to his ears despite the gentle wind in his face. It wasn't the tires as they crunched through the sand. This sound was more of a mechanical nature.

The identity of the sound finally clicked even as Adrian spotted the dropship soaring across the landscape toward the hill he was traveling. Without another thought, Adrian bent low over then handlebars and began pumping the pedals – hard. Every ounce of power in his muscular legs thrust the mountain bike forward for all it was worth.

The safety of the rocky summit loomed ahead. Once there, Adrian could lie in wait for the dropship and its occupants. The ship was still several miles distant when Adrian zoomed in among the rock formations. He ditched the bike and his helmet in an area where it would be easy to find, then took off deeper into the maze of outcroppings.

Adrian didn't rush blindly into the rocks, however. Even as the heat was starting to build, snakes and other creatures hid in the cool shadows of the stone structures. None came out to see the human weaving through the rocks, choosing instead to remain in their dens.

The dropship soared in from the west, looking for a place to set down. The pilot had clearly seen where Adrian had gone, but could find no place close enough to the rocks to set down. Metal scrapping on stone marked the dropship's landing over one hundred yards distant in the only place barely suitable for touching down. The ramp lowered, and a squad of soldiers filed out. They spread out among the rocks to begin their search.

The squad did have weapons, but they remained holstered. That seemed odd to Adrian as he spied his first target cautiously weaving among the boulders. They came in a fully armed dropship, carried side arms left in their holsters, and systematically searched the area in pairs. These were professionals all the way. So why were they after Adrian? General Hammond had easier ways of calling him back to the base, and none of them included sending out an armed search party complete with dropship support.

Adrian pounced on the first soldier from above. The man never had a chance to defend himself before being knocked unconscious. Adrian eased the man to ground, and set off after his next target. It didn't take long for the squad to realize they had turned from hunters to the hunted. Adrian took out the second man a little too quickly because he was reporting to the squad leader at the time.

The remaining soldiers rapidly closed in on their companion's position. In seconds, the pair stood over their comrade, eyes scanning the area. Adrian dropped in from behind, knocking one man down and grabbing the other by the throat. The prone soldier lay dazed and confused after his helmet hit the bolder hard. The squad leader in Adrian's grasp stared bug-eyed at his transformed arm.

"Always a pleasure to see you sticking it to the troops, Cobretti," a familiar voice said from the next bolder in line.

Alexis Feril, veteran of the first two Guardian Force missions, leaned idly against the shaded side; flight helmet tucked under one arm. Another officer joined her, a very familiar one.

"Keep that up and you'll scare people away," Major Davis replied, smiling.

"Someone has to keep you jokers honest, Captain Davis. Naturally, it falls to the enlisted ranks," Adrian answered casually.

"It's Major Davis, now."

"Falling up in the world," Adrian said. It was his way of congratulating the man, who had deserved the promotion.

As a liaison between the White House and Guardian Command, Major Davis had the task of reading mission reports, breaking them down into terms the President – a very smart man in his own right – could understand, and relaying needs from General Hammond directly to President Alexander.

"Something like that," the Major acknowledged. "Um, do you mind?" He gestured to the soldier still locked in the taloned hand of Adrian's syngenor arm.

Adrian transformed the limb back to a normal human one, muttered an apology, and helped the squad leader get back on his feet. "So what brings you out from the Crystal Palace?" he said to Major Davis. By 'Crystal Palace', Adrian was referring to the Pentagon.

"There is a mission coming up that is just right for you," Major Davis said bluntly. He knew Adrian preferred one to just say they had to say instead of beating around the bush.

"Posing as a bounty hunter is not my idea of a good time," Adrian replied, equally blunt.

Davis was not surprised that Adrian knew of the plan. However, the major _was_ surprised that Adrian knew he was the one Hammond had in mind to play the part. Or maybe Adrian was just good at guessing. "The operation is already underway. Just before leaving the base, I was informed that the Val-kyrie have secured the bounty hunter's ship, and that it would be repaired and flown to us as soon as possible."

"Well, you better get cracking on finding someone to play the bounty hunter," Adrian suggested, walking back in the direction of his bike. "You do it."

"Not with your qualifications."

"_What_ qualifications? I'm a jet engine mechanic turned galactic savior with a skull crammed full of the life experiences and knowledge of someone who died a thousand years ago."

"You're the best we've got. Colonel Markson is too military for the part. Brad and Jeromy can't lose their accents. And we certainly can't send Jake. He's not level-headed enough. Nope. You are it," Major Davis explained, practically running to keep up with Adrian.

He caught the man at the bike, and found someone else had arrived. A falcon colored red, white, and blue was perched upon the bike seat staring at Adrian with bright, intelligent eyes. It squawked at Adrian repeatedly.

"I knew you'd show up sooner or later," Adrian muttered, retrieving the helmet hanging from the handlebars by the chin strap.

Zoar preened and squawked in response.

"Look, Adrian, whether you want to admit it or not, you have the personality to pull this off. I've watched you in those role-playing games you guys run whenever you have the chance. You're a natural. Sometimes it's like watching a different person. You could have been an actor, if your life had been different," Davis persisted.

Adrian jerked a thumb at Zoar. "You're as crazy as she is."

Zoar's squawk was decidedly negative, and her eyes flashed with anger.

"Oh, hush!" Adrian snapped. "I'm not doing it no matter what you say." He turned to the Major, adding, "Either of you."

"Sorry, sergeant. I have orders to bring you back," Davis said apologetically.

One of the squad members made a move toward the bike.

"What branch you from, son?" Adrian asked pointedly.

The kid looked up, swallowed hard. He must have heard about what Adrian did to the squad leader. "Army, sir."

"You touch that bike and it'll be the end of life as you've come to know it in the U.S. Army, get it?"

"Got it."

"Shoo."

As the kid backed away, Major Davis took his place. "I have my orders."


	5. Ch 02

TWO

Guardian Command

Area 51, United States, Earth

20 June 2017

Adrian awoke abruptly, as he had before, only this time he was right where he was supposed to be. He also had plenty of time until the morning meeting with General Hammond. While getting ready for the appointment, Adrian reflected upon what Moria Vadorian had shown him, and shivered. She certainly had a way with imagery and getting her point across, and she had forced him to accept several things he had known deep down, but had refused to acknowledge.

After cleaning up and dressing in the black and gray jumpsuit that had been commissioned as the standard Guardian uniform, Adrian headed for the cafeteria for a quick breakfast. He met Colonel Markson and Captain Takamora there, and sat with them. Conversation drifted from one topic to the next, never landing on the pending mission per the general's orders. There were still a few Horde spies in the Guardian Command who had yet to be identified. If any one of them found out what was being planned, anyone attempting to infiltrate the penal planet would likely be killed long before making it there.

The appointed time was close at hand, and so the trio left the cafeteria for General Hammond's briefing room. Colonel Simmons was there along with Gabe, Nick, and Susan Blanchard. Blain Robard's presence was not required, so he had made himself busy elsewhere. The Sorceress was also in attendance, conversing quietly with Susan. Adrian, Jon, and Hohiro walked in and took their seats. Adrian sat across from the Sorceress, whether or not it was intentional that the seat had been left for him, Adrian didn't have time to ponder. General Hammond entered, waved everyone back into his or her seats, and walked to his chair at the head of the table.

"Good morning, people. We have a lot to cover, so let's get to it," Hammond said.

Arguments about the bounty hunter ship and who should crew it started almost immediately. Adrian pointedly stared at something on the tabletop, and the Sorceress stayed out of the argument, despite Colonel Simmons' best efforts to draw her into it.

"I'll go," Adrian finally spoke quietly. He had to repeat it several times before Hammond finally ordered everyone to pipe down.

"Are you volunteering for this mission? I know we had you picked for it, but I still wanted the option left to you," General Hammond explained.

"I'll go," Adrian said yet again.

"At the risk of appearing ungrateful for the change, but may I ask why you've had a change of heart?" Hammond inquired.

"Let's just say I had an epiphany last night and leave it at that," Adrian responded cryptically.

Colonel Simmons shook his head. "Not good enough. I want to know what brought about this change."

"Oh, come off it, Simmons. His volunteering means you can't stick in someone you approve of," Colonel Markson injected.

Simmons scowled at him, but said nothing.

"Look. He-man and She-ra sacrificed themselves to save others. They were ready to give their lives for what they believe in. I understand that, now," Adrian said not looking at any one person directly.

Nick cleared his throat. "Adrian, your arguments against this course of action were sound." He gestured to the rough drawing of the Horde garrison projected on the wall behind him. "That place is a fortress inhabited by a legion of robot troopers. Even _if_ you are successful in getting in there, the roving gangs outside the base will make finding He-man and the others nearly impossible. Like you pointed out, it's suicide."

"No, it's not. I know it looks that way, but it isn't. And I can't explain to you why it isn't," Adrian countered. "That's why I have to go."

"Why?" Gabe asked, very curious in his friend's change of heart.

"Because I believe in something," Adrian answered.

"What?" Sorceress asked, speaking for the first time since the meeting started.

"I believe I can bring them back," Adrian told her. Looking Colonel Markson's way, he added, "With a little help." He went on to say that it was dependent on the Sorceress having him along, if she wasn't still angry with him.

The Sorceress' eyes twinkled, and she smiled. "I am grateful you have changed your mind."

Colonel Simmons looked ready to explode, but General Hammond cut the man off. "Very well. We have a lot of work to do, and the Val-kyrie will no doubt get that starship to us within the next week. This mission must be ready to commence at a moment's notice. So let's get to it."

As the attendees rose and filed out, General Hammond asked Colonel Markson and Captain Takamora to remain, claiming he had a special project for the pair.

Castle Grayskull

Graylands, Eternia

21 June 2017

Anyssa hated waiting. A warrior's life was lived on the field of battle, exemplifying the three principles of the Warrior Cast; live fast, fight hard, and go out in a blaze of glory. Looking out from the castle face's left eye, the warrior woman looked over that battlefield once more. There had been much glory to be gained out there ten days ago. Many people had lost their lives defending the ancient castle and its secrets. Some would argue the price had been too high. Fortunately, Anyssa was not a politician, and therefore did not care what most other people thought.

If the inactivity was irritating, being cooped up in the old castle with a feisty Quaedian warrior would be considered pure hell by some of Anyssa's friends. Dhalon was definitely unique, even among his own people. What he lacked in height he more than made up for in personality. Although Anyssa hated to admit it, she and the feline had several things in common; the thrill for battle, the adrenalin rush of life or death action, and the absolute disdain for inactivity.

Five days ago the _Logoss_ had sent a message that the bounty hunter's ship had been secured, and that it would be repaired and sent to Eternia as soon as possible. Since then, not a word on the repair effort or the estimated delivery date. Anyssa had sent a reply asking for a scout ship in addition to a few supplies. Commander Fontaine had resisted giving up one of her scout ships, but she eventually yielded once Anyssa explained why she wanted it.

All she could do now was sit and wait. And Anyssa hated waiting.

Suddenly, the massive magical screen next to the throne tower came to life. Streaks of red/orange light filled the field, and a quiet hum issued forth. Anyssa fingered the dagger that was sheathed at the small of her back while Dhalon hefted a single-bladed axe. The pair watched nervously as the seconds dragged on. Finally, a familiar figured dressed like a humanoid bird stepped through the field and the energies quickly died away.

The Sorceress wore an amused smile as she greeted her friends. "I apologize for the sudden appearance, but time is short."

"We were not worried," Dhalon grumbled, putting the axe aside.

"Has there been any word regarding the ship?" Sorceress asked Anyssa.

Anyssa shook her head. "No. They should have gotten it fixed by now."  
"Maybe they just want to be secretive about it," Dhalon suggested.

Anyssa snorted. "Fleet commanders are not known for that, although Commander Fontaine revels in being an atypical commander."

"Well, I have make preparations. Hence my visit," Sorceress said, walking across the floor to the approximate location of the Pool of Power. "I have to make a change before Hohiro pummels me in the accelerated training sessions he is planning."

"What kind of change?" Dhalon asked, curious.

"I'll surprise you," Sorceress answered. "Now please step back. I have never done this in the reverse order so I have no idea what to expect."

Anyssa and Dhalon did as she requested. The Sorceress reached out with her magic to the pool hidden deep in the castle and activated the block that would drop her into its magical energies. As with the first time she had entered this chamber, the nondescript block upon which the Sorceress stood smoothly rose up about twelve inches, and then slowly lowered her into the pool below.

Moments after the Sorceress disappeared, wisps of smoke snaked their way out, followed by a pale light that quickly built to blinding levels. Anyssa and Dhalon were forced to look away from the light or risk being blinded. A full minute after the Sorceress had disappeared into the castle's depths, the light died away completely, but there was still no sign of her. The sounds of stones grinding against each other marked the return of the block the Sorceress had been standing on.

However, the individual who rose from the Pool of Power was someone that they had never seen before.

"Sorceress?" Anyssa asked, cautiously.

The Sorceress smiled warmly. "Yes, it is I."

"We would never have recognized you," Dhalon replied, fidgeting.

Curious about the effect of her change, Sorceress walked around the stairway up to the throne to a small cul-de-sac where a much smaller magic mirror stood. She'd had only a vague idea of the look she wanted when she went into the pool, and had left much of the change up to the Spirit of Grayskull.

Sorceress stared at her reflection with an appraising eye. The boots remained the same as her normal costume, except that they appeared to have leather wraps on the surface, and the white fur topping them was a bit shaggier. The outfit was a two-piece style. The long, blue skirt was slit clear up the left leg to the silver belt hanging low on the hips. The edges of the fabric were not a clean cut and ended with a point close to the right ankle. The sleeveless top was also blue with silver trim on the high collar and bottom edge. Silver patches on the shoulders ran down under the arms and across the lower back. A bland shape of a falcon was spread across her breast, also cast in silver, and had a small red jewel where the eye would be.

A silver band hugged the bicep of her right arm while the left forearm was sheathed in a gloveless gauntlet. One of the compacted falcon staffs from the Falcon arm was imbedded in the outer face where she could pluck it out and employ its power at a moment's notice.

The most stunning feature to her was having her long mane of red hair back. It had been so long since she had been rid of the headdress that was her transformed hair that the Sorceress had forgotten what it felt like to have it back. The brief trips in public on Earth were not long enough to remember, and besides, that had been an illusion. _This_ was real. And although the ponytail harkened back to her life before taking Kodec Ungor's place as the guardian of the castle, it would have to go.

"Well, what do you think?" Sorceress asked.

"Not bad, as humans go," Dhalon rumbled.

Anyssa hesitated to say anything, but the Sorceress insisted. "Looks nice, but it's not revealing enough for a Val-kyrie."

"It's revealing enough for me," Sorceress replied firmly. The skirt hung so low on her hips she was afraid it would slip off with the slightest movement, which was far from the case.

_An interesting choice of wardrobe, _came Moria's voice in her mind, a hint of humor in her telepathic tone. _I approve._

_I don't recall seeking your approval,_ Sorceress shot back.

_You have it; nonetheless,_ Moria answered, and was gone.

"I must return to Earth to continue preparing for the mission. General Hammond wishes to know as soon as you hear from your people regarding that bounty hunter's ship," Sorceress said to Anyssa. Her boot heels clicked on the flagstones as she walked back toward the gigantic screen.

"Do you think this general will allow us to finally visit his clan?" Dhalon asked.

"I don't, Dhalon," Sorceress admitted. "The people of Earth have been fighting one another for centuries. Although they now know they are not alone in the universe, they still have the tendency to fear what they don't understand."

"And those different from them," Anyssa added.

Sorceress nodded, "Don't worry. You'll see Earth soon enough." Sorceress produced a pair of blue gems doubling as one of the many communication devises she and Gabe had made through science and magic. She handed one to Anyssa, and pressed the other into place in the vacant oval on her belt.

With a wave of her hand, the Sorceress activated the magic panel, creating a gateway into Gabe's massive underground research chamber, and stepped through. Anyssa and Dhalon were left once more to hold down the fort and suffer through another long wait until the _Logoss_ made contact.

Guardian Command

Area 51, United States, Earth

24 June 2017

The change the Sorceress had undergone for the mission had the expected effect on the male members of General Hammond's command. Men jostled one another just to get a glimpse of her strolling through the corridors. Gossip had it that she was trying out a new look to better fit in because her costume as the Guardian of Castle Grayskull was just too conspicuous for Earth fashions.

Sorceress used the situation to her advantage, after a little coaching from Nick and Gabe, to learn to ignore the catcalls, proposals, and somewhat lewd comments. She suspected some of the incidents were engineered as a test, for what she was likely to encounter on Hel would be much worse. However, ignoring it wasn't enough. Sorceress would be required to use her feminine wiles to her advantage; something she was inexperienced at. Sonya Boradni, Susan Blanchard, and, of all people, Alexis Feril gave the Sorceress a lot of pointers in this area, embarrassing as it sometimes seemed to her.

Today was all business. Hohiro tested the integration of Cirandar's memories and experiences with the Sorceress' own. It seemed Cirandar had been quite an accomplished fighter in hand-to-hand combat. Hohiro intended to test that to see if the student had the capability to surpass the teacher as Adrian had done a few days earlier.

"This is our sparring section," Hohiro gestured to indicate the room whose floor was covered with thick mats. "I have two rules. Give me nothing less than your best. Never pull your punches. Adrian can attest to point number two. Other than that, anything goes. Do you understand?"

Sorceress nodded, feeling a bit foolish because she was dressed in the costume that would be the persona of the bounty hunter's companion, while Hohiro was dressed in the appropriate outfit for martial arts sparring.

The diminutive oriental returned her nod, challenging, "Then hit me, if you can."

And so it began. Hohiro waited for the Sorceress to strike, and did not wait long. The first series was clumsy and awkward, and it wasn't because the Sorceress was fighting in the sturdy, high-heeled boots. The first knockdown came after thirty-seconds.

"Good! Adaptation, improvisation," Hohiro stated as if he was giving a lecture, "but your weakness is not your technique."

Sorceress got back to her feet, feeling strangely cocky, and engaged her opponent once more. Hohiro ended the second round after a little more than two minutes, this time by sending the Sorceress flying with a well-aimed kick to the abdomen. Sorceress tumbled a short distance after landing, and lay on her belly, desperately sucking in oxygen.

"How did I beat you?" Hohiro asked with one hand behind his back, and looking at the fingers of the other hand clinically.

"You're too quick, and strong."

"Do you really believe that my strength and skill have any meaning in this match? You have inherited a lifetime of knowledge and experience. Enough to be more than a match for me." He paused to let that sink in before continuing. "You have magic on your side, Sorceress. With it you can strengthen your muscles and bones, enhance your endurance, and give me a taste of what I'm giving you. Do you really think you should be so winded right now?" The man straightened and walked a few paces away from her. "Again!" he commanded sternly.

Reluctantly, the Sorceress climbed to her feet once more, letting the magic flow through her, taking away the exhaustion and pain. She calmed considerably as she let Cirandar's knowledge and skill come forth.

A crowd quickly formed at the wide double doors to the sparring chamber as a word made its way around about the fight. Adrian and the other Guardians stood in the front row with the other spectators struggling to get a good view behind them.

Sorceress ignored everything except her opponent. She launched another series of attacks that were even faster than before. Hohiro had to back away as her coordination improved along with the unpredictable pattern of the attacks. As time wore on, the Sorceress appeared to be drawing more and more on Cirandar's experience. At one point, Sorceress left herself open for a strike square in the face, which fell short only because his arms were just a bit shorter than his. She leapt backward, stunned.

"What are you waiting for?" Hohiro demanded. "You can be so much faster than this." He adopted a different stance from the one he had been using throughout the match. "Don't think you are, _know_ you are." He waved her forward.

They began again, even faster than before. Hohiro had never showed off just how strong and quick he was, but he was showing it here. He had been forced to give up the sparring matches with Adrian using the beam sabers for the very same reason he was now testing the Sorceress. Adrian had grown beyond his teachings, thanks not only to Hohiro's training, but also because of the inherited memories and experiences of an individual who had died a thousand years ago.

At one point, Hohiro wrapped his arms up with the Sorceress', locked them together temporarily. "C'mon!" Hohiro snarled angrily. "Stop trying to hit me, and _hit me!_"

The pair separated abruptly, and the Sorceress fully gave herself over to Cirandar's legacy. Hohiro had to retreat once more. Sorceress forced him to duck, dodge, and even dive for his life as she took the fight to him; just like he wanted. He recovered somewhat as she stopped his attacks with lightening thrusts and blocks even quicker than before, if that was humanly possible. The oriental began to wonder if this really had been a wise course of action. It had sounded good before the match. Now he had a nagging doubt.

All at once, Hohiro took a punch square in the belly just below the ribs, and tumbled backward. The Sorceress halted her assault, and adopted a waiting stance, ready for anything.

Hohiro slowly got to his feet, kept his features carefully neutral, faced his opponent, and bowed deeply. "The student has now outgrown the teacher. There is nothing more I can teach you."

Caught off guard, Sorceress relaxed and returned the bow. Clearly, the match was at an end.

"I think I see now what you were striving for," Sorceress replied.

"You are an honorable woman, Sorceress. There is no shame in knowing how to defend yourself. Robots are not like flesh and blood beings," Hohiro replied gently. "He slapped his belly a couple times. "Pretty good punch you have there."

Flashing a whimsical smile, Sorceress said, "Would you like another?"

"No, no. Once is enough. You might break something the next time," Hohiro said quickly.

The crowd dispersed at the behest of the other Guardians and then they left except for Adrian.

"Don't say it, Adrian. Yes, you warned me. Seems to be an understatement now," Sorceress said, stalling what Adrian was going to say. "Do you really think we have a chance of pulling this off?" she asked, fiddling with a lock of hair.

"I have no doubts," Hohiro supplied.

"I feel better about going than someone taking my place," Adrian added.

That reminded her of something she had been meaning to ask all week. "Why did you change your mind?" Sorceress asked, adding quickly, "And don't say it was a woman's prerogative."

Adrian considered his answer. "Ask me again after we are on our way," he finally answered. "Nice outfit."

It was obvious Adrian was not going to divulge anything more until they were on their own. Hands on her hips, Sorceress said, "Why is it that most every other male around here leers at me, but you do not?"

"Would you prefer it if I did?" Adrian replied innocently.

"I'm not sure you are capable of it, so the answer is 'no.'"

Hooking an arm through hers, Adrian pulled her out into the corridor. "C'mon. Let's have some real thrills and chills."

Sorceress did not resist, but asked cautiously, "Where?"

"The dining hall."

"What's so dangerous in there?"

"The food," Adrian answered with a wink.

Word was received later that day that the _Logoss_ would be arriving at Planet Eternia within twenty-four hours. After a checkout of the ship, Anyssa would fly it to Earth's moon in the company of Dhalon. There would also be a scout ship on remote control following along for Anyssa's use later on, if it became necessary.

Specifications were transmitted for Gabe to program a simulator until the real ship arrived. Once in the hangar on the moon, simulations would be run using the real thing, followed by trips through the solar system to get used to the handling.

The more the preparations came together, the more General Hammond realized just how ideal Adrian and the Sorceress really were to carry out the mission. Both of their predecessors had been skilled space pilots, so it would be fairly easy for them to learn the systems and controls of the ship being loaned to the Guardian Command.

_Eternia_ returned home ahead of schedule, which was good. General Hammond had been trying to think of ways to keep the operation secret from the ship's captain and crew. Arriving a day before the bounty hunter ship was to arrive was good fortune. It would allow the ground crews at Area 51 time to repair the ship and get her back into space for a special mission while the preparations for the mission to Hel continued unabated at the moon base.

Almost as soon as the landing gear touched down, and the engines were shut down, technicians swarmed over the starship inside and out to evaluate repairs, prioritize work schedules, and begin ordering parts and materials.

Captain Majourny and her crew were given the day off to refresh and unwind before the debriefings started. Jo-jo naturally inquired about the whereabouts of the other members of the Guardian Force. All General Hammond would say is that they were away at training, on leave, or otherwise occupied with preparations for future missions. Jo-jo wasn't quite sure that explanation was the whole truth, but the general gave her no reason to doubt it, either.

Jojo- shrugged those thoughts away. If there were things she needed to know, General Hammond would inform her. Besides, after the debriefings were completed, her first duty was to her ship and crew.

A light rap on the door drew Adrian's attention away from the book he was getting ready to spend the rest of the evening reading. Finger stuck in the pages so he wouldn't lose his place, Adrian cradled the novel in his left arm, and walked over to the door.

"Who is it?" he asked clearly. Since he was wearing only a robe and slippers, it wouldn't do to invite an embarrassing situation.

"It's me," the Sorceress answered. "May I speak to you for a few minutes?"  
"Sure," Adrian answered, opening the door.

"Oh. You look like you are settling down for a quiet evening," Sorceress said, clearly uncertain about her visit. "It can wait until tomorrow."

"You came all this way," Adrian countered. "Come in. I promise to be a perfect gentleman."

Sorceress smiled slightly, keeping her thoughts to herself, but accepted his invitation. He closed the door behind her and waved her to the only chair in the room. Sorceress chose to perch herself on the side of the bed, instead. Sorceress declined a beverage, and stared at her lap.

Making himself comfortable in the chair, Adrian grabbed a bookmark from the desk, placed it in the book, and set it aside. "So what's on your mind?"  
"I have…concerns…about what we are training for," Sorceress admitted after a long pause. She fidgeted with her skirt, trying in vain to cover her legs.

"What, specifically, concerns you?"

"I'm worried about this. About what I'm becoming," she paused seeing the slight smile on Adrian's face. "What's so funny? I came here because I could not think of anyone else to talk to, and you are laughing about it?"

"Peace," Adrian replied, soothingly. "I was thinking about the times I came to you because of how I was feeling about this. And here you are coming to talk to me. Kind or ironic."

"And even a little funny," Sorceress agreed. "I'm used to having the knowledge of Castle Grayskull readily at hand. Now I feel like a commoner, so to speak. As if that wasn't bad enough, I volunteer for a mission that might get me killed as surely as King Hiss' venom did. For a long time, I stood on the sidelines watching history pass by. Only on occasion, did I take an active part, either helping He-man and his allies, or when the secrets of Grayskull were threatened."

"Now you, like me, have to become a warrior. Learning how to fight, to defend yourself with something other than magic," Adrian surmised.

Sorceress nodded. She stopped fiddling with the skirt, and absently stroked a lock of red hair. "You chose to serve in the military. I know you are a mechanic at heart, but your basic job is to carry a weapon when called upon. I won't insult you by claiming to know how you feel. But maybe, in a way, I do from a different perspective."

"Are you having second thoughts about the mission?"

Sorceress pondered the question for a minute before finally answering. "No. I guess I just needed someone to talk to."

"Have you ever gone out to dinner?" Adrian asked, changing the topic.

Sorceress furrowed her brow, confused. "Yes. A few times. I guess it depends on what you mean."

"In World War Two, during the Battle of Britain, there was a pair of Spitfire pilots who maintained a running chess game. This was so they had something to live for," Adrian explained.

Sorceress nodded in understanding. "To return and finish the game. Are you suggesting we start a chess game?"

Adrian shook his head. "No. That's you and General Hammond. No, I was thinking of something a little more personal." Before the Sorceress could object, obviously having extremely intimate thoughts, Adrian explained what he had in mind. "I was thinking of me taking you out to dinner before you transformed you hair back to that head dress. No strings attached. Just a simple dinner date."

"Something to live for?" she said, considering the idea. Clearly, he was finally asking her out on a date. Sorceress had no doubts about that. She had wondered what took so long, though. "You just want to see me in a dress."

"Well, you did get to see me in my dress uniform," Adrian said with a lopsided grin. "Seems only fair."

"It has been a long time since I went out on a date," Sorceress murmured. "Might be fun. Very well. If we survive this mission, we will go out to dinner. I will wear a nice dress, and you will be appropriately dressed. I'll even let you pick the eating establishment."

"And stick me with the check," Adrian groused.

Sorceress rose from the bed. "A lady _never_ pays for her dinner," she answered with a wink.

"I'd say we have a date."

Sorceress paused outside his door. "This is just between you and me, for now. It's bad enough this visit will be all over the base before we wake up in the morning."

"So we'll say it's none of their business. People will already have their minds made up, so we'll play with them," Adrian suggested.

"How?"

Adrian shrugged. "Tell people who know about the mission we're practicing for the parts we have to play. Let their imaginations do the walking. People already think we're seeing each other on the sly."

Sorceress thought about the possibilities. She would need the practice to be more in keeping with the character she volunteered to play, and it might even be fun. It would certainly be out of character for her. "I like you. You're devious."

When she was gone, Adrian closed the door and settled in to read when reality finally hit him between the eyes. "I have a pending date with the Sorceress of Grayskull – _and I can't _tell _anyone!_"


	6. Ch 03

THREE

Alpha Moon Base

Sol System

25 June 2017

The massive underground bay at the Earth's only moon colony was large enough to comfortably fit two starships the size of the _Eternia_. On this day, the bay was devoid of everything in preparation for opening to the vacuum of space. Controllers carefully watched their instruments as the oxygen was evacuated from the chamber. Once the indicators reached their proper marks, the massive overhead doors parted soundlessly. In seconds, stars were visible beyond the rolling metal structures. It was a fantastic view from the dark side of the moon, where stars not normally visible from the Earth's surface shone plainly.

When the doors reached their stops, powerful pistons imbedded in the ground beneath the bay floor pushed the entire surface upward. The floor locked into place, and the operators waited and watched certain sensors built into the floor.

The incoming vessels were equipped with senor cloaks, rendering the base's radar and sensor systems useless. Visual systems were temporarily turned off, and no one had been allowed out on the surface until the ships landed.

The wait was not long. Several lights suddenly illuminated, indicating two separate masses had just touched down on the platform. The bay controllers immediately lowered the platform. As soon as the alien ships perched there had cleared the bay's lip, the massive doors rolled closed. The doors and platform came to a halt simultaneously. Once the bay was re-pressurized, powerful lights, recessed in the overhead doors and along the walls, illuminated. Airlock doors opened to admit ground crews to service the ships and check for damage.

Gabriel Burns, the Sorceress, Adrian Cobretti, and General Hammond strode across the hangar floor to the ungainly-looking ship on the left. They stopped under the stubby wing on the starboard side of the ship's bow where the personnel hatch was located. An identical one was located under the forward wing on the other side.

The hatch cycled open, and a short ramp extended. Anyssa walked out, closely followed by Dhalon. Sorceress made the introductions all around.

"Welcome to Moon Base Alpha," General Hammond said formally. "I trust your flight was uneventful."

"As much as can be in the company of a Val-kyrie," Dhalon grumbled.

Adrian stifled a snicker. "I see the love/hate relationship flourishes as ever," he said, clasping forearms with Anyssa first and then with the feisty Quaedian.

After greeting the general, Anyssa asked, "Dhalon and I have heard much about your world, General Hammond. When will we be allowed to see some of it?"

"Well, that may take a while. Even though we know we are not alone in the galaxy, not everyone on the planet is ready to meet beings from another world. The people of our planet tend to fear those we don't understand," Hammond explained apologetically.

"And those who look different from us," Adrian added.

"You don't fear me," Dhalon pointed out.

"That's because we know you," Sorceress replied. "I have to hide my true appearance whenever I go out in public. It was more than a year before I was allowed out of an underground installation. The experience was most…unpleasant."

Dhalon grumbled again, but Anyssa cut him off. "Dhalon, these people have been gracious enough to allow us entry into their moon base as friends. It's the first step. Now be nice."

"Master Dhalon, if you'll follow me, I will personally give you a tour of the base," General Hammond gestured toward the open hatch through which he had entered the bay.

Anyssa took Adrian, the Sorceress, and Gabe on a tour of the bounty hunter starship. As Gabe surmised, there was an air lock on either side of the forward hull under the wings. The central corridor led forward, past the crew quarters, up a short stairwell to the cockpit. Beneath the somewhat cramped cockpit, which seated four people, lay the primary weapons bays. Adrian and the Sorceress sat in the pilot and co-pilot seats respectively and listened attentively as Anyssa explained the various controls. The pair would be familiarizing themselves further once the simulations began.

The central corridor went aft into the main hull, where it split into side corridors running along the outer length of the ship, ending in the engine room. The main branch ended in the expansive cargo bay. Hatches built into the sloping part of the outer hull where it widened to accommodate the cargo bay allowed access through the side corridors for cargo shipments.

Adrian could practically see the gears turning in Gabe's mind as he pictured how an infiltration team was going to survive in the hold without revealing themselves. Of course, no one knew yet just who or what that team would consist of, and Gabe was very tight-lipped about it.

Anyssa took them outside to point out the concealed weapon mounts, engine specifications, and anything else of interest. Once her audience was satisfied with the initial briefing, Anyssa left the ship in Gabe's capable hands to rig for the simulations while she walked over to the armed scout ship to supervise its servicing.

It took the better part of the day to link the starship's systems to a dedicated computer server and simulator. When it was finally ready for trials, Anyssa tried out the simulations to be sure there were no problems. Once satisfied with the results, Anyssa ran Adrian and the Sorceress through the control systems, patiently working past their difficulties with understanding the dynamics of space travel. Although the pair had the knowledge and experience of people who lived a thousand years ago, understanding that knowledge was something else.

It was very early in the morning of June the twenty-sixth when the trio finally called it a night. One thing was certain when Adrian finally collapsed in his bed. He and the Sorceress would have to work hard in a short time to master piloting that ship. The inherited knowledge and experience helped, but it still fell to the individual to employ that knowledge. The first steps had already been taken; understanding the concepts. Hopefully, it would get easier from here on out.

Snake Mountain

Dark Side of Eternia

King Randor and his wife, Marlena, reviewed the dispatch once more. Anyssa had relayed it to Snake Mountain using a small time/space portal constructed by the Sorceress during her brief visit. Anyssa did not need to await a response because the message contained all the required information regarding a rendezvous, if the recipients chose to go.

Marlena and her husband were all for the rendezvous; Skeletor was another matter entirely. He was still fuming over Moria's interference by helping Colonel Markson's group return to Castle Grayskull in time to defend it against the combined attack by the Snake Men and the Horde. Because of that, he was disinclined even to entertain the idea of the proposed meeting.

"Are you still enraged about the help that Colonel Markson received?" Randor asked, shaking his head. "It's that kind of attitude that consistently lost you Castle Grayskull. Lamenting about things in the past that you cannot change always hindered you. Along with the minions you kept around you," he added, grinning slightly.

"You really believe these backward people are worth the effort?" Skeletor scoffed. "Just like that council you one established with all the races of Eternia. We saw how that eventually turned out."

"At least it wasn't from a lack of trying. The real question is: Do you have it in you to change, and try to make a difference?" King Randor countered.

Skeletor snorted. "I want the secrets of Castle Grayskull and to ruler Eternia myself. Have no delusions about our 'partnership' changing my ambitions."

Marlena finally spoke up, soft voiced, but firm, "What do you have to lose? Attend this meeting and see what these people of Earth have in mind. If you reject it, walk away with a clear conscience."

"Conscience?" Skeletor snickered. "I do not recall ever having one. Enough of this. My mind is made up. I have no interest in hearing what the Earth people have to offer. They are backward, inferior, and don't have the numbers or the technology to stand alone against the Horde."

"What do you think?" Marlena asked her husband.

"We have to be very careful. If King Hiss or the Horde catches on to this, we won't live long enough to regret it," Randor answered soberly.

"Do you think _she_ will attend?" Marlena asked, referring to whom the dispatch was also sent.

Randor frowned. "I don't know. She might."

"I'll find out, then. If she also refuses, then I will find a way for us to get to Earth on our own," the queen replied, placing a consoling hand against Randor's cheek.

When she left to see to the communications and preparations, King Randor walked down the short corridor from the throne room to the snake's mouth. For a long time, he listened to the roar of the waterfalls immediately below.

_The Alliance of Races may be disbanded, Skeletor,_ Randor thought angrily, _but the idea behind it is still _very _much alive._

Alpha Moon Base

Sol System

30 June 2017

Adrian and the Sorceress trained hard for five days learning to fly the starship, learn the tactics of space combat, and space navigation. Adrian had the hardest part of all because he had to learn to do all this with one eye. After the Sorceress taught him the technique she had used to temporarily transform her headdress into her natural hair for trips in public, it was a simple matter for Adrian to alter his left eye to look like it had been lost in a fight, and sealed.

Hohiro put Adrian through a grueling regiment designed to get him used to life with one eye in the shortest time possible. By day five, Adrian was walking around the base with little to no difficulties. It was a very strange feeling, but Adrian began to understand how people with disabilities functioned, and how the human body compensated for the loss of senses.

The clothes to go along with the character were not Adrian's style, but they were functional. Sleeveless shirt and matching pants in black leather, a black leather duster style coat, boots, twin gun belts, and fingerless gloves created the image of a man not to be trifled with. It took many hours of practice before Adrian began to get the hang of the part he was to play. After a long talk with Gabe, he settled upon the personalities of three fictional characters to draw upon. The result surpassed even General Hammond's expectations.

Hammond had been reluctant to let the Sorceress and Adrian wander extensively about the moon base, and had placed restrictions on the pair once Adrian started training to use only one eye. The Sorceress' new look worked to the General's favor. He simply let it be known she was trying something different from her usual costume. Although the pair bristled a bit at the news of being restricted to certain areas, it hardly mattered as the mission would be commencing within days.

Corporals Dietrich and Frost were being recalled from sniper school, and were due to arrive at the moon base on Saturday. Adrian and the Sorceress would likely have to leave on Sunday, July first, or Monday, at the latest. The snipers were going to have to be brought up to speed very quickly, if they were join the operation.

The other matter was the _Eternia_. The ground crews at Area 51 made more progress than expected because the crew managed to make many of the major repairs while en-route back to Earth. With Earth's only starship nearly ready for action once more, the timetable for the operation had to be moved up. Until then, General Hammond would have to keep Captain Majourny at bay.

Hammond did have a mission in mind for her, though he was pretty sure she wouldn't like the first part of it. Encouraging news had been received through the Val-kyrie intelligence network that the people Anyssa had covertly contacted to attend a meeting at the moon base had accepted the invitation. Some of them, anyway. To be brutally honest, Hammond hadn't expected any of the people contacted to actually come. This would be a very interesting conference.

News of the impending departure did not remain a secret from those who knew about the mission for too long. The Sorceress spent the evening at Castle Grayskull, browsing through the immense library looking for several specific books she intended to take along. Adrian could not take anything conspicuously associated with Earth, but did take Gabe up on getting familiar with the latest assault rifle off the development boards in compensation. Alpha and Charlie platoons prepared for some super secret operation only they knew about. And the entire moon base was buzzing with all kinds of gossip, some of which General Hammond contributed to just to keep things steered away from what was really going on.

The presence of Anyssa and Dhalon was easily explained. They were ambassadors of their respective peoples to Earth to open diplomatic relations. One found that harder to believe of Dhalon than Anyssa. While Anyssa was a warrior at heart, her people did have to have a certain amount of restraint when meeting other cultures. Dhalon, on the other hand, like Colonel Markson, would never be accused of being a diplomat; antagonist, yes. Never a diplomat.

Dhalon did have good taste in one respect, however. He absolutely hated Colonel Simmons upon first contact. It was only because General Hammond had asked the Quaedian to relinquish his weapons before touring the base that allowed to the colonel to survive the encounter.

Later that evening, Anyssa informed General Hammond that the conference he had wished to host was on. Interestingly enough, all the contacts would be attending, although, if the General was not convincing, they would leave quicker than they arrived. Time had run out. The mission had to proceed as soon as possible, otherwise, the second half of his plan would fall flat.

Alpha Moon Base

Sol System

2 July 2017

The preparations took a little longer than General Hammond would have liked, but the infiltration team was finally ready to go. He watched as the two platoons of salvaged shocktroopers filed into the bounty hunter's ship's cargo bay. Gabe supervised the loading of the robots into upright troop stations that had been hastily constructed to accommodate the humanoid cargo. Once they were loaded, the cargo doors were sealed and loaded with a code only Adrian would know. He would give it to the Sorceress after they were safely away.

In the ready room, Adrian and the Sorceress were making last-minute adjustments to their equipment and wardrobe. Adrian checked the pistols over to make sure they functioned properly, slapped ammo clips into place, and smacked the bolts forward, chambering the first round. He slid the weapons smoothly into the holsters that were strapped to his thighs. Adrian loaded a magazine into the rifle that Gabe had trained him on several days ago. The remaining devises went into a satchel.

Sorceress slipped her left arm into the gauntlet that had been modified by Gabe's team per her request. She slid a stiletto into the concealed sheath in the underside. The compact falcon staff from her armor popped into place on the outer side, where a large jewel would normally be. That left her with the dilemma about what to do with the medallion that was the Falcon armor shrunken down to its smallest form.

She had considered mounting it on the gauntlet, but that had been reserved for the staff. The armband on her upper right arm was out because having a six-pointed star there wouldn't look right. In a flash of inspiration, Sorceress snatched the stiletto from Adrian's right boot, much to his dismay, and applied the tip to the ruby that was the falcon's eye on her breast.

Adrian asked if she needed any help, for which he received the 'look of death.' Being very careful, Sorceress wedged the blade between the gem and the metal. The ruby popped out without exerting much force. Catching it in her left hand, Sorceress tossed it across the table to Nick. She then picked up the medallion that was the Falcon armor and placed it against the empty depression. The medallion immediately altered itself further, absorbing the points and chain into its structure, shrinking still smaller, and turning as red as the ruby she had just removed.

"Neat trick," Nick said holding the ruby up to the overhead lights.

"Thanks," Sorceress replied, handing the stiletto back to Adrian, handle first. "It's yours," she added, referring to the ruby. "I don't want it back. I could have plenty more from Castle Grayskull's treasure vault, if I so desired. Sell it if you wish. It should bring a good price in your planet's markets."

"Thank you. No, I won't sell it. It'll mean more to me if I have it mounted in something. A ruby this size would look fine in a belt buckle," Nick mused.

"So how much treasure is in the castle's vault?" Adrian asked.

"Well, I can't say for certain, but I do know it is enough to make every person currently living in your United States a multi-billionaire," Sorceress answered matter-of-factly.

Nick and Adrian stared at her, flabbergasted that she would talk about such a thing as if it was commonplace.

"Well, I think we're ready," Adrian said, breaking the awkward silence.

"As ready as I will ever be," Sorceress replied. Her voice betrayed a slight hint of nervousness.

General Hammond and Colonel Simmons were waiting in the corridor as the trio emerged from the ready room. Adrian and the Sorceress did not acknowledge Simmons' presence, greeted Hammond warmly and then set off toward the hangar bay.

Simmons launched into specifics about where the pair would have to go to refuel the starship before making the final leg of the journey to Hel. The ship did have enough of a fuel reserve to make several trips to and from Hel, but stopping off at a planet that was a known haven for the scum of the universe would look more convincing.

"Once you cross into Horde space, you will be on your own," Simmons stressed.

"You mean we can't count on any support from you?" Adrian growled, sounding only slightly disappointed.

"No," Simmons answered flatly.

"_Good!_"

"This keeps getting better by the minute," Sorceress added with a smile.

Simmons looked from one to the other in confusion. "For a pair who has been seen arguing a lot over the past several days, you two are pretty chummy now."

"It's called acting," Nick supplied. "They were working on their characters. Of course, Simmons, you have _no_ character, so it's understandable that you don't comprehend."

The personnel airlock door stood open, which Adrian thought might be a safety violation, but said nothing about it. The group stepped through into the hangar bay, and walked across to the waiting starship. Sorceress noticed something painted on the side of the nose that had not been there before. The ship had not been christened with a name by the real bounty hunter for some unknown reason, so someone finally came up with a suitable one.

Adrian had wanted to call it Falconlady, but Sorceress countered it would have been too much of a giveaway as to who she was. Adrian conceded on the grounds that once Horde agents started digging into their files compiled by their spies on Earth, it would only be a matter of time until their faces were matched against their real identities. It would take a leap of logic in the Sorceress' case, but Gabe showed them on a computer how her facial bone structure could be matched up.

Thus, the ship had been christened Ladyhawke after an old movie Sorceress came across one night looking for something interesting to watch. Maybe when the mission was over she would see about renaming it Falconlady as Adrian had first intended, if the Val-kyrie had no objections. The ship was on loan to Earth, after all.

"Good luck to you both," General Hammond said quietly. He shook hands with the pair and then left the hangar for the control room.

Simmons grunted a 'good luck' of his own, didn't both sticking out his hand because he knew they wouldn't shake it, and followed the general.

Gabe handed Adrian a data chip. "The cargo is loaded. Here is the access code. I trust you are going to share this with your partner?"

"Of course, once we're well on our way," Adrian promised, pocketing the chip.

"The longer hair suits you," Gabe observed. "Not too sure about the goatee, though." He stuck out his hand knowing they had to get the ship moving soon.

Adrian shook his head. "I'm afraid a handshake won't do it." He and Gabe shared a brief, fierce embrace.

"Look out for her, okay," Gabe said candidly.

"She can take care of herself, but I'll watch her back," Adrian replied with a wink. He walked up the short ramp into the starboard airlock.

Gabe looked the Sorceress up and down like a father taking in the beauty of a daughter before a first date. "I think I like this look better," he admitted, somewhat embarrassed.

Sorceress smiled warmly, embracing him. "I'm starting to like it myself."

"You take care of him, okay? Make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble. Either of you," Gabe said when they parted.

"Don't worry, Gabe. I'm sure we'll have our share of thrills and chills," she said.

The hangar controller announced over the intercom that they were minutes from the scheduled departure time. Gabe reluctantly retreated to the personnel hatch and locked it tightly behind him. A lone figure in a pressure suit, and carrying light wands, was standing between the _Ladyhawke_ and Anyssa's scout ship. That person would taxi the _Ladyhawke_ safely past the scout ship and into open space.

Sorceress walked up the starboard ramp, stepped through the inner lock hatch, and manipulated the controls to retract the ramp and close both hatches. Her gear was already stowed in her cabin, so she made her way to the cockpit. She quietly stepped in and dropped into the co-pilot's seat.

Adrian was already through most of the pre-flight checks as Sorceress powered up the navigational computers. Everything checked out. The Val-kyrie had done a very good job repairing the ship after capturing the real bounty hunter.

"Hanger bay is clear. All hatches are sealed. Preparing to depressurize the bay," the controller announced over the comm channel.

The marshaler Sorceress spotted earlier had moved to stand far enough off the _Ladyhawke_'s nose so he could be clearly seen by her and Adrian. Adrian and Sorceress exchanged nods when all was in readiness.

Flipping a switch, Adrian spoke directly to the waiting man. "You ready out there?"

"Whenever you are," Alexis Feril replied.

"You're a long way from a dropship," Adrian said, surprised.

"Well, I figured with the few times you have marshaled out aircraft during your years of service, I thought I'd return the favor," the dropship pilot answered.

"You sure you know how to work those things?" Adrian quipped, referring to the wands Alexis carried.

"Don't be a Jake," she shot back blithely.

"Ouch," Sorceress muttered, grinning slightly.

Adrian chuckled.

"_Ladyhawke_, what's the hold-up?" Colonel Simmons demanded. "We're on a tight schedule." When Adrian didn't answer, the colonel repeated his demand. "Cobra, what are you doing?"

"Playing with myself. Standby!" Adrian growled into the comm.

"Cobra," General Hammond said pointedly. As irritating as Colonel Simmons could be, he did have a point about the departure time. Hammond's simple reply was enough to drive that point home, unnecessarily.

Pre-flight checks finally completed and verified, Adrian said, "I was reciting the Sheppard's Prayer. Allen Sheppard. 'Oh, Lord, please don't let us screw up!'"

Control acknowledged the Sorceress' request for departure clearance. The oxygen was sucked out of the hangar bay in minutes. Massive overhead doors parted as the flood lights were extinguished. Feril snapped on her light wands. They were two orange points in a sea of surrounding blackness as the huge platform was lifted into launch position.

Adrian hit a control that retracted the side window panels, giving the pair as much of a view as possible. The stars seemed unusually bright today. The moon's rotation placed the base opposite the Earth, so they had a clear view of stars not normally seen even from earth's orbit. This would only be true if the base were on the dark side of the moon. And even if it were, those stars would be visible from the base all the time, because the Moon's orbit is synchronous to the Earth's.

A rumble through the ship signaled the platform coming to a halt. Sorceress dimmed the cockpit lights to a comfortable level. Adrian glanced at her, nodded that he was ready. When she nodded back, he toggled the flood lights briefly on and then off.

Feril snapped her arms up in response. Adrian applied enough thruster power to lift the ship from the metal pad. A flip of a switch retracted the nose landing strut; the only such strut the ship had. Alexis, her back square to the dark scout ship, raised her right arm to the horizontal position to point the way, and began to pull her left arm toward her. She was telling Adrian to turn his ship's nose to his left. Once in the proper alignment, Ferial snapped her right arm up, twisted, and walked backward parallel to the scout ship. She waved the departing ship forward to the safe point where Adrian could engage his main engines and drive for outer space. As the ship crossed the safety threshold, Alexis brought her left arm down and around to point the way with both wands, then dropped her arms to her sides, stood at attention, and snapped off a crisp salute with her right hand. Although she couldn't see inside the cockpit windows, Adrian returned the salute, then eased the throttles for the main engines forwards. Blue-white light flared from the sub-light engines and the ship blasted off into the perpetual night.

Although the comm frequency had long since been changed, Feril still spoke aloud, "Godspeed, _Ladyhawke_. And Good luck."


	7. Ch 04

FOUR

World Government Headquarters

New York City

United States, Earth

3 July 2017

World President Roshenko glared daggers at the shadows in his office. Things were not going as planned. The quiet movement on Earth was running along just fine with one notable exception. The Guardian Force was proving to be more than a thorn in his side. They'd managed to find the mystical armor in time to continue their mission to protect Earth from the Horde. Given the public embarrassment at the time, Roshenko had been left with little choice but to allow them to continue.

Roshenko had hoped the dual mission to Eternia and Phantos would be their undoing. No such luck. Captain Majourny managed to get her ship and crew away from a Horde trap on Phantos. Colonel Markson held off an overwhelming assault by the Snake Men _and_ the Horde long enough for Majourny to return and bail them out.

There was an interesting note in the captain's report. An alien starship of a type never before encountered arrived and destroyed the surviving Horde capital warships. Just because the unknown ship saved the starship _Eternia_ from certain destruction, it did not necessarily mean the alien crew would be an ally to the Guardian Force. With power such as these aliens possessed, they would make a powerful ally against the Guardian Force.

The shadows stirred, breaking the World President out of his reflective mood. "You look pensive, Mister President," the figure in the shadows replied.

"General Hammond's command is more resilient than I expected. And now something very strange is going on," Roshenko admitted.

"Define 'strange,'" the shadow inquired.

"The _Eternia_ was directed to the hangar at Area Fifty-one instead of the one at Moon Base Alpha. No one has seen or heard from a majority of the platoons, and now three of the Guardians appear to have gone missing," Roshenko explained. He added that the warrior woman, Anyssa, and her Quaedian companion were currently on the moon base.

The shadow considered the information. "Your spies are embedded deeper in the general's command than I gave you credit for."

Roshenko sighed. "Not deep enough. One would think a stubborn, opinionated man like Colonel Simmons could be swayed to our side."

"But–"

"But as stubborn, hostile, and opinionated as he is, Colonel Simmons is still a patriot. While he may not agree with the way Hammond runs his command, he has Earth's best interest at heart," the president replied.

"One would think he would fit in with your plans, but I can see why he wouldn't," the other man agreed. It sounds to me like there may be a covert operation going on."

"That was my first thought."

"Or that could simply be what it appears on the surface. Two of their snipers were in training out here on the east coast. Colonel Markson is rumored to be out on maneuvers with the Alpha and Charlie platoons. The remaining personnel are likely still getting indoctrinated into the command," the shadow man pointed out.

"Possibly, but our agents in the Guardian Command appear to be unusually isolated, as far as information gathering is concerned," Roshenko pointed out.

"Then we shall just have to wait and see. I'm sure your associates can take action if it should become necessary," the shadows commented. "In the meantime, there are things I must attend to."

President Roshenko stared into the empty shadows for a long time, pondering the discussion. There had been some excitement when the mission to Eternia concluded. At first, he had thought all the hoopla had to do with the Sorceress' 'miraculous' death and rebirth. He was now convinced it had to do with something else; something that could possibly tip the balance of power in the galaxy. His associates would need to know if Hammond was doing something they would not approve of. Somehow his spies would have to find out. Somehow.

Alpha Moon Base

The red phone on General Hammond's desk buzzed for his attention. Shifting his attention from the open file folder in front of him to the phone, Hammond snatched up the receiver. It was a direct line to the office of the President of the United States, which was currently held by Curtis Alexander. It seemed unusual that the President would be calling him now.

"Hammond," the general said crisply.

"Brigadier General Eugene Hammond, known to his friends as 'Mean Gene.' It's a pleasure to finally be speaking with you," a distorted male voice replied.

"Who is this? How did you access this secure line?" Hammond demanded.

"Who I am is unimportant at this time. How I gained access to the direct line to the President is even less so," the mystery man said. "What I have to say won't take long, General Hammond. However, if you wish to simply hang up on me, do so now, and I will not bother you again."

"After you have gone through the trouble of contacting me this way? I would hate to disappoint you. Provided you have anything of worth to say," Hammond countered.

A pause, then the man on the other said, "Very good. I had hoped to peek your interest."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Hammond cautioned. "You still haven't said anything of worth."

A grunt of approval, then, "Very well. Let's get to it. There is a cancer creeping through the government and your command. And while that particular bit of information is already known to you, consider just how high up the cancer goes. Consider, also, that the current disappearance of key members of your command has gained the notice of certain powerful individuals."

"That has been happening since the mission of the Guardian Command began," Hammond said, sounding bored. "Try again or I hang up."

"I am in a position to help you, General Hammond. I have feelers in places you can't begin to guess. Severing ties with me could prove disastrous in your command's current state," the man cautioned.

"Help me with what?"

"Staying ahead of your enemies. Enemies of not only you and the people under your command, but of the Earth, as well. Whatever you have going on has raised a few eyebrows. Be very careful your that plans are not compromised. Not only in the government are there those who would like nothing more than to see the Guardian Force terminated."

Hammond's brow furrowed. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I am simply making a statement. Make it mean whatever you like. Just be careful that your current operation doesn't get compromised. For all our sakes," the man said, deadly serious. "Goodbye for now, General."

The line went dead before Hammond could say a word. He leaned back in his plush leather chair, the report long forgotten. _Eternia_ would be arriving in a few hours to finish outfitting and re-arming for her next few missions. Captain Majourny wasn't going to like the first one, and she'd hate the second even more. A complete mission brief had been prepared for her to view when the time came. Waiting patiently for that time would be another matter all together.

Despite all the precautions, it appeared that someone has figured out something was going on. Unfortunately, there was very little else he could do. The cover stories would hold for a while. Hopefully, they would last long enough for Adrian and the Sorceress to complete their mission.

Ace brought the _Eternia_ in for a landing next to Anyssa's scout ship. As soon as the landing gear compressed from the starship's weight settling on them, the landing platform sank into the cavernous underground hangar. The bay doors ground to a close overhead, and oxygen was pumped back into the chamber. The crew disembarked as the Gabe's tech crews filtered on board. The remaining repairs would be made as quickly as possible. Anything requiring the dock facilities was at the top of the list. Problems which could be fixed by the crew in flight were at the bottom.

Jo-jo made her way straight for General Hammond's office. He was in, and waved her into a seat when she rapped on the open door.

"Welcome to Moon Base Alpha, captain. How was the trip up from Earth?" General Hammond said.

"Short," Jo-jo answered. "Ace reported a few glitches with the maneuvering thrusters. Gabe has his people working on it."

"Good. As soon as the ship checks out, I have a couple of missions for you," Hammond informed her. "You don't appear to be surprised by that."

"I'm not. With all the cloak and dagger stuff going on around here, it wasn't hard to put two and two together," Jo-jo replied. "No one has seen much of the Guardians or Colonel Markson and company in over a week. Sooner or later, someone is going to notice."

"True. But the cover stories only have to last another week at most," Hammond admitted. "By then you will know the full story, and the proverbial cat will literally be out of the bag."

"I don't suppose you could let me have a peek in the bag?"

"I'm tempted, but security on this is paramount. All will be revealed in due time. For now, I need the _Eternia_ to rendezvous with a starship in two days," Hammond said, sliding a data pad across the desk.

Jo-jo reviewed the mission profile. "This is in the middle of nowhere less than a day from our solar system."

"Yes," Hammond agreed.

"And you can't even give me just a little hint at what is going on?"

"No. All I can say is you'll understand when the time comes," Hammond answered. "For now, I can only ask that you trust me."

Jo-jo didn't like all the cloak and dagger stuff, but she had very little choice. _Eternia_ was required to launch the day after tomorrow. The repair crews would be pushed to the limit, but Jo-jo was confident her ship would be ready for the escort mission. With nothing more to discuss with the general, Jo-jo left his office, orders in hand.

Jo-jo wandered aimlessly throughout the base. She didn't have a particular destination in mind. There did appear to be an unusual amount of activity for routine operations of the base. The lack of recognizable faces did not go unnoticed, however. Although the captain had been to the moon base several times, she did not recognize many of the faces as she wandered aimlessly. Either there had been a substantial turnover in personnel, an occurrence that was not uncommon on military installations from time to time, or the majority of the assigned personnel were temporarily working – elsewhere.

Despite the odd feel of the whole situation, Jo-jo put it out of her mind. General Hammond knew what he was doing. Her job was to get her ship out to the rendezvous point and escort Hammond's Very Important Persons (VIPs) back to the base. Maybe then she would get at least a slight glimmer as to what the secrecy was all about.

Deep Space

"Report," Lord Malkor demanded.

Cilian looked up from her console and the progress report scrolling up on it.

Substantial progress had been made in less than a month since awakening from their long cryogenic sleep. A cruiser drifting close to the badly damaged command ship was discovered to be completely intact. The command ship likely took much of the damage meant for the cruiser. As such, the cruiser and crew were revived and pressed into service scanning the surrounding void for more capital ships. Many were discovered in various states from completely intact to totally destroyed. The numbers of surviving crew members in functioning cryogenic chambers were a little more encouraging.

"Sir, we have about a dozen cruisers and destroyers nearing the final start up phase. Crew survivability on all vessels averages over seventy-percent," Cilian reported, never glancing down at her console for the facts and figures. "Returns on the sensor net are still inconclusive in a number of areas; however, we have located a supply base within reach that appears to be in pristine condition. I recommend dispatching the cruiser _Forrestov_, which has been our workhorse, to investigate and evaluate the base. According to our information, there should be several transports we can use to start ferrying personnel and supplies to and from the fleet."

"Yes, those transports would be very useful, if they are there, and _if_ they can still fly," Lord Malkor agreed.

Dispatching the _Forrestov_ would deprive the fleet of its only current means of defense. It was a risk, but an acceptable one. So much time had passed that no one knew of his people or the empire that once existed pre-Horde.

Malkor ordered the immediate dispatch of the cruiser to the supply base as soon as it had a sufficient number of techs and crew required to revive the base and the transports. "Now. What of the scans from Eternia? Have you discovered anything more about the new owners of the lost armor and their allies?"

"Not much, My Lord," Cilian admitted. "The starship they use passed beyond the limit of the sensor net into an area of the galaxy not previously explored by our forces. However, something interesting did occur during the space battle."

Cilian punched up a recording recently downloaded from the satellite network. It was more footage from the space battle fought in the Eternian solar system. Lord Malkor had seen it already. He was about to say something when a new section of footage scrolled past. A shadow shaped like a starship soared across the picture, fired beams of pure antiprotons at the Horde warships. Those beams sliced through shields and hulls as if they weren't even there. The unknown starship made short work of the Horde fleet in minutes and then leapt away into hyperspace.

"It would appear someone has engineered technology we left behind," Cilian observed.

"Indeed," Malkor agreed, thoughtful. "And with a narrow list of locations and races capable of engineering a starship like that, it should not take too long to figure out who it belongs to. After all, it isn't every day one records the appearance of a warship equipped with organic technology."

An awkward silence followed as more footage of the lost armor played out on the screen. They still did not know the identity of the humans operating the suits, save one. They now knew of the demise of King Grayskull and the guardianship of his legacy, and the legacy of the Elders. They now knew the one operating the so-called Falcon armor was the Sorceress of Grayskull. It seemed odd that the one virtually chained to the ancient castle for almost a thousand years would suddenly be allowed free reign to leave her home in human form whenever she wished.

Strange forces were at work in the galaxy, and Lord Malkor needed to be certain what the current state of affairs was before he awoke the Empress. They had to know who they could count on when battle was joined with the Horde. And who would stand in their way when they rebuilt the empire Horde Prime had destroyed.

Until then, all Malkor could do was wait, observe, and revitalize the dead fleet.

Planet Wayfarer

Near the Val-kyrie Boarder

4 July 2017

_Ladyhawke_ approached the time when she dropped out of hyperspace and landed at the Gravnine spaceport. Gravnine was the central hub for all commercial traffic into and out of the Horde Empire as well as the surrounding systems to include the Val-kyrie Dominion. It was also the hub for elicit traffic of every conceivable type. This was where Cobra intended to set down and refuel his ship. And, he hoped, to get information about the Horde commander who had been dogging his trail for the past six hours.

The shadow appeared six hours ago, matching the _Ladyhawke_'s movements exactly. Whoever was piloting that ship was very, very good. They always remained just on the edge of sensor range, and always made like a sensor echo. There wasn't much Cobra could do about it, however. The shadow sped away the few times Cobra turned to intercept, and returned moments after _Ladyhawke_ resumed her base course.

Cobra brushed off knowledge of the trailing vessel, much to Teelana's dismay. She felt they should be doing something more to get rid of their shadow. Cobra argued that if they were successful with one, there was always another one out there to pick up the tracking. They were playing the part of a bounty hunter and his companion; after all, so it stood to reason there would be a certain amount of attention paid to their movements.

Teelana finally relented, not liking it one bit.

She awoke early the morning after they departed Earth's moon, and dressed quickly. She was thankful once more for the bikini bottom underneath the skirt despite the fact that the skirt had yet to actually slide right off her hips. Stepping into the corridor, Teelana heard grunting sounds coming from somewhere further aft. She noticed the hatch to the cargo bay locked in the open position. Walking through the open door, she spied Cobra, toes braced up on a small craft, doing push-ups.

She leaned against the frame with her arms folded in front of her, she commented, "We're heading for a spaceport widely considered to be a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and what do I find? You doing your exercises."

Cobra ignored her and watched the silver, six-pointed pendant touch the deck. When it lay on its flat backside, Cobra knew he had gone down far enough, and pushed himself back up. He'd been doing so for thirty minutes. Reaching the required number, he paused in the up position, and removed his feet from the crate one at a time.

Looking up at the stunning woman from his kneeling position, Cobra said, "You watched the _Star Wars_ movies before we left, didn't you?"

"Yes," she confirmed absently.

"Well, you could use a little toning here and there," he admitted, getting to his feet.

Indignant, she snarled, "Are you saying I'm fat?"

"Hardly. You just need some toning for endurance. How many magic-users do you know that can hold their own in close-quarters combat?"

It didn't take long to come up with the answer. "One… but she doesn't count," she muttered.

"Then you will be the first," Cobra declared. "And for the record, you are one of the most well-proportioned women I have ever known, Teelana"

"Thank you," she replied as her newly-chosen name echoed around the room. As he stepped past her, she concluded, "I think…"

She followed Cobra up the steps and into the cockpit. No sooner had they taken their seats then the navigation panel began beeping for attention. They were approaching the point where the ship was to transition back into normal space. At the proper moment, Cobra pulled back on the hyperspace engine throttles. Space outside opened in a luminescent cloud out of which shot the _Ladyhawke_. Sub-light engines blazed a fiery blue-white, thrusting the ship toward the muddy brown planet ahead.

The planet Wayfarer lay dead ahead, and the spaceport, Gravnine, hailed them almost as soon as _Ladyhawke_ dropped out of hyperspace. Cobra tersely told the obnoxious port controller they were coming in for landing even if he had to land his ship on top of the controller's building. Evidently, there was still bad blood from the bounty hunter's last visit, particularly with the local Horde Garrison commander.

The Horde presence here was largely for show. Like empires the universe over, the Horde Empire survived on a certain amount of smuggling and trading. Though smuggling was officially illegal, many garrison commanders make deals with smugglers, mercenaries, and bounty hunters on a regular basis. For the most part, the Horde and the crime cartels left one another alone. Occasionally, there were conflicts of interest, sometimes resulting in bloody endings.

The hired underlings waiting in an alcove when the _Ladyhawke_ settled into her assigned docking birth were not very bright, but they were loyal. The local crime boss had had dealings with Cobra in the past, but as far as the Val-kyrie knew, the pair had never met face to face, or seen one another via visual communication. Descriptions of the bounty hunter ranged from understatement to gross exaggeration, which only worked to Adrian's favor.

Cobra and Teelana shut down all essential systems, and left the cockpit for the cargo bay. Teelana didn't like it, but they would need to use the shocktroopers to secure the ship in their absence. Gabe had made a one-hundred percent guarantee that his re-programming would work without a hitch.

Teelana shivered slightly as the first three shocktroopers in line on each side straightened up in their mounts, snapped up laser rifles close at hand, and stepped out of their travel niches. The robots formed up in two ranks, facing their masters, weapons held a port arms.

"Maintenance crews will be servicing this ship shortly. No one is to enter without authorization," Cobra told the squad leader, who had a blue stripe painted on his helmet. "Should anyone attempt to do so, shoot first, and we'll think about the questions later. Much later. Clear?"

"Very clear, commander," the robot responded smartly.

Cobra checked the weapons in their holsters strapped to his thighs, clicked off the safeties, and turned away from the robot troops. "Let's go."

The robots obediently followed Cobra and Teelana to the starboard air lock. Teelana tapped the required buttons to cycle the lock, and followed Cobra outside. The trio awaiting them was visibly surprised to see more than just the bounty hunter exiting his ship. Boss Nash didn't say a word to Jaro about a female companion or the Horde shocktroopers when he was sent to greet the bounty hunter. Either Boss Nash knew nothing of the robots, or he thought they were of no consequence.

Before Jaro could say a word, Cobra snapped, "Don't tell. Let me guess. You are the welcoming committee. Well, you can tell Boss Nash I'm not interested in anything he has to say. I'll only here long enough to refuel my ship and then I'll be on my way."

Teelana was impressed. Cobra actually did read the intelligence reports they 'procured' along the way.

"Boss Nash is not one to be kept waiting, or ignored," Jaro persisted.

"And just why should we bother to accept his 'generous' request for an audience with us?" Teelana spoke up.

Jaro hesitated. He wasn't used to dealing with females. On Gravnine, if they weren't smugglers or bounty hunters of some renown, they were, in his opinion, to be seen and not heard.

"Answer the lady," Cobra snarled evenly, fingering the pistols.

"Boss Nash has a business proposition for you," the weasel answered nervously.

The ground crew finally arrived to service the ship. The squad leader took change of the humanoids after Teelana informed them of the ground rules. The civilians didn't like it, but a cold stare from Cobra changed their minds.

Returning his attention to Jaro, Cobra growled, "I have business elsewhere. My appointment book is filled up for the next several months, so Boss Nash will just have to file an appointment with my secretary."

Jaro did not need any hints as to who the secretary was. Although he kept his attention riveted on Cobra, the man was consciously aware of the stunning beauty of the bounty hunter's companion, and her thinly disguised lethality.

"Commander Caras might be informed of your arrival, if you fail to accept Boss Nash's invite," Jaro boldly declared.

His mistake.

Cobra had to stoop a little to get into the vile little weasel's face. "_What_ makes you think he doesn't already know I'm here? You wanna make threats, Little Man, be sure you can back 'em up."

Jaro scrambled backward, left hand clawing to drag out the laser pistol strapped to his thigh. Cobra simply stood rooted in place, arms crossed, and eying the thug inquisitively. In the time it took Jaro to finally clear leather, Cobra could have emptied the clips from both of his pistols into him. But clear leather, Jaro finally did. The telltale sound of the pistol's priming charge was quickly followed by the same sounds from the laser rifles that suddenly appeared around Cobra's shoulders.

The shocktroopers had been watching for any sudden, and stupid, moves on the part of the thugs sent to greet their masters. They were not disappointed. The emotionless machines carefully aimed at Jaro's chest while his shaky fist attempted to hold his aim at Cobra's head.

"You better be sure," Cobra said idly.

Teelana slipped sideways to her left where she would have a clear field of fire in the event she had to invoke her magic. She relaxed minutely when the thug thought better of his rash act, and cautiously – and slowly - returned the laser pistol to its proper place.

"You see? You _can_ make an intelligent choice when you try," Cobra sneered. He waved the robot bodyguards to stand down. The machines lowered their weapons, but did not power them down. Teelana stepped in and whispered briefly in Cobra's ear. They conversed for a moment longer before Cobra returned his eye to Jaro. "My secretary says a time slot has just opened on the appointment book, but it isn't very large. So it appears we can accept Boss Nash's request after all." Jaro relaxed a little since returning without the bounty Hunter would have had dire consequences for him. He bristled when Cobra added, "Lead on, Stumpy."

Scowling, Jaro wheeled about and waved angrily for his impotent companions to move out. The robots returned to their duty of watching over the starship while their commanders went off to meet with the local crime boss. They knew the _Ladyhawke_ would need to be ready to depart at a moment's notice.

A landspeeder awaited the group outside the spaceport. One would think a crime lord like Boss Nash would own a fleet of such vehicles in pristine condition. The one awaiting them looked like it would explode the instant the engine was powered up. Cobra and Teelana climbed into the back seat of the open cockpit while Jaro and the biggest of the ruffians – a mountain of muscle with a tiny brain called Cass – took the front seat. The remaining men disappeared into the crowd.

Jaro was not smooth about dropping the vehicle into gear, and nearly gave his passengers whiplash. Cobra dared him to do it again despite the glare from Cass. Something in Teelana's steady gaze kept the thug from wagging his tongue. She wanted to ask several questions about the wisdom of what they were doing, but decided against it. Following Cobra's lead appeared to be the best course of action, for now, even if he was making things up as he went.

The spaceport was more rundown than they had imagined when they had seen images of the docking berth ring of the Palace Phantos spaceport. Where the Phantos ports underwent at least periodic maintenance, some of the Wayfarer ports rarely saw even that much. Parts of the city saw even less attention. Despite the arid conditions, however, the city thrived with activity. Most of it legal.

Teelana felt Cobra stiffen slightly at the sight of a squad of Horde troopers, but he relaxed an instant later. The garrison was small and the general stayed out of the day to day affairs of the population. They only involved themselves when drawn into a situation, or were asked to mediate a dispute. As a general rule, people tended to handle problems on their own. Disputes were settled more than half the time with fatal results for one or both parties.

Teelana gazed at the open markets, reminding her of the ones which used to populate the Eternian palace, or her home village of Novella. Thoughts of her home, long returned to the desert from which it had risen, stabbed briefly at her heart. These people went about their lives without any concern for the world outside their own little corner. What did these people care of the Horde invading one planet after another in their quest to conquer the galaxy? As long as the Horde didn't bother them, why invite trouble?

They arrived at a nondescript building along the outskirts of the city. It was a multi-story structure looking somewhat like a hotel, or an office building. This was where they would find Boss Nash. Jaro and Cass gestured up the short flight of stone stairs to the front doors. Cobra and Teelana preceded Jaro up the steps and through the doors, which opened automatically at their approach. Several heavily armed sentries waited inside. They did not move to frisk the pair as Cobra had expected. No crime boss would ever let armed people not associated with their own syndicate through their defenses without good reason.

Cobra and Teelana were directed up a several flights of stairs to the third floor where the décor was much more modern and in much better condition. Obviously, the lower floors and the exterior were to show the outside world what Nash wanted it to see. The guards at the doors, however, stopped the pair and demanded they hand over their weapons. Cobra made no move to comply, and Teelana did not appear to have a place to hide a weapon.

The situation quickly reached the boiling point when the earpiece in the left ear of the guard on the left chimed. He pressed a finger to the device, listened for a moment, and then waved his companion back.

"Boss Nash will see you now," the hired thug said, shoving the door open. The guard on the right likewise gave his door a shove.

"Thanks for your _in_hospitality," Teelana commented sardonically as she walked past.

The chamber they entered took up nearly the entire floor. It was divided up into rooms which could be closed off from the main foyer, and was richly styled in the latest fashions. It was all to gaudy for Cobra's taste. Even Teelana found the overabundance of trinkets, gold leaf, and leather distasteful.

A slim, not unattractive man – in Teelana's opinion – sat on a leather couch dressed rather conservatively considering the surroundings. The man looked Cobra over with probing eyes, but that only lasted for a few moments. The scrutiny she received lasted much longer and was more probing.

"Cobra! How nice to finally meet you," Boss Nash declared. He smiled like a rattlesnake getting ready to strike.

"Can't say the feeling is mutual. Nice place you have here," Cobra responded, looking around. "A bit over the top for my taste."

"Please, come in," Boss Nash invited. "We have business to discuss."

"Not interested. I have a full schedule for the next several months."

"I met your late associate one month ago," Nash continued, ignoring Cobra's remark.

"Would that have been late at night when he dived off a five-story building in a futile attempt to fly?" Teelana inquired.

Boss Nash looked from Teelana to Cobra and back.

"She asked you a question," Cobra supplied, pulling a cigar from inside his jacket pocket. The bookends sitting on stools at the fully stocked bar leapt to their feet, but Nash waved them back.

"Since when do you let some skirt do your talking for you? That's not your style," Nash said. It was a calculated insult.

Cobra smiled thinly. "She's my new partner. Talking to her is the same as talking to me. Answer her question."

Nash smiled approvingly. Whether it was approval on Teelana's status in Cobra's organization or her beauty was unclear. "You know I didn't waste him."

"And how do I know that?" Cobra demanded.

"Because you remember all about Boss Cardas."

Cobra racked his memory, finally dredged up the name. "Oh, yes. Helluva guy. Came in second next to you in last year's Snotball Pageant."

The bookends stationed at the bar leapt from their seats once again at Cobra's insult. Nash waved them off. "You're very close to a manners lesson," Nash warned evenly.

"And you're very close to getting your butt waxed," Cobra shot back.

The bookends hustled to their boss' side. There was only so much they were going to tolerate.

The bounty hunter stared them down, growling, "You want a piece of me? C'mon!"

"Not now," Nash commanded, getting up from the couch. Once the goons returned to the bar, the crime lord continued. "I must say you really are what your reputation indicates."

Cobra plopped down in the leather couch perpendicular to the one Nash had vacated. Teelana sat at the other end from Cobra, adjusted her skirts, and leaned back, right arm stretched along the couch back.

"So what is your position in Cobra's endeavor, eh? Are you window dressing wrapped up in a beautiful package? Or are you more than that?" Nash asked, walking across to the ornate desk towards Teelana's end of the couch. He opened a polished wooden box containing exotic cigars. He removed one, closed the box, and picked up a lighter. The lighter suddenly jumped out of Nash's hand, ignited itself, and hung there in midair waiting for Nash to stick the cigar in the flame. Nash picked up another implement, snipped off the rounded end, stuck the clipped cigar in his mouth, and poked the flat end into the waiting flame. A few puffs, and he had the cigar lit. Teelana extinguished the flame and carefully dropped the lighter to the desktop.

Nash nodded his thanks. "A witch. That can come in handy-" He broke off abruptly as an invisible vise clamped down around his neck.

Eyes blazing, left arm extended, Teelana snapped with an odd echo in her voice, "I am _not_ a witch. I am a _sorceress_. You would do well to remember that." She released the crime lord immediately.

Coughing, rubbing his neck, and then, waving his bodyguards back, Nash said in a humble voice, "I shall. Quite a lady you have there, Cobra. Normally, I'd ask how much you are paying her, but I have the feeling this partnership is based on something more." Nash removed another cigar from the box, clipped the rounded end, and tossed it to his guest as he walked back to his seat. He correctly surmised Teelana didn't smoke.

Cobra's warning look told the man to change the subject. "You said something about business. Get on with it." He lit the cigar and waited.

"There is an organization out there taking bites out of everyone's business. Traditionally, we set up our spheres of influence and stick to them. If boundaries are crossed, we share the wealth, to a degree. In short, we try not to tick off any one boss because an all out war among crime bosses is bad for business," Nash explained at length, taking a few puffs of his cigar.

Cobra blew a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling. "Sounds like trouble. Your trouble. What's this got to do with me?"

"Cardas was taken by a bounty hunter on a contract from Hordak. Seems he irritated Hordak in some way."

Teelana supplied, "Hordak is always irritable. Probably from a lack of fulfillment in his life."

"Or a bad case of constipation," Cobra agreed. To Nash, he said, "So what? He irritates the ruler of Etheria and gets taken out of the picture. More for the rest of you bosses, right?"

Nash nodded. "Ordinarily, yes. But as I said, someone is running his organization and is muscling in of everyone else's action. I hired your late associate to find out who that was and to take him or her out, if possible."

"You know who it is?" Teelana asked, incredulous.

"Yes. It seems Cardas has found a way to continue running his empire from the safest place in the entire universe," Nash confirmed.

"Hel," Cobra hissed.

Nash raised his smoldering cigar. "Bravo."

Teelana shook her head. "How is that possible? The only technology of any consequence is the Horde garrison there. Cardas should not be able to do anything there except rot."

"He must have made some kind of arrangement with Farnig, the garrison commander. There has been an unusual amount of re-supply shipments to the penal colony over the past nine months, which is coincidently the same amount of time Cardas has been exiled there," Nash admitted. "It wasn't easy to find this out, mind you. More than a few good operatives died digging this up."

"Including my ex-partner," Cobra spat evenly.

"Yes. Cardas must have found out, and got to him before he could get to Cardas on Hel. Which brings me to you," Nash said pointedly to Cobra. "Farnig still owes you money from the last couple of bounties you delivered. Approximately fifty thousand, if my sources are correct." Nash paused to let where this conversation was going sink in.

"Well, I didn't talk to my ex-partner before he went out for some air. I don't know the financial arrangements," Cobra said, secretly enjoying the moment. They now had a very good reason for going to the penal planet.

"The commission is the same as I offered him. Fifty-thousand credits to go to Hel, find Cardas, and burn his organization to the ground," Nash proposed.

Cobra shook his head. "No deal. Getting out of the garrison is easy, but the risk is way above running contraband. Surely you can make us a better offer than that."

Nash was ready for that. "Fine. One-hundred thousand credits. That's double what Farnig owes you. I'll pay you that even if you collect the fifty-thousand he owes you."

Cobra considered the new offer, shared a knowing look with Teelana. "Well, it looks like this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Half now."

"Agreed," Nash replied, sticking out his hand.

"And just how do we collect the rest?" Teelana inquired, ever the realist.

Nash considered that a moment. If she and Cobra pulled off the commission, they would have a lot of people out for their hides. "You have a suggestion?"

Teelana nodded. "Deposit the other half into a new account we just set up, but with a hold only you can release. That way if we don't make it, you are only out half the amount, which you can likely recoup on your next spice run."

"I knew there was a reason why I liked having her around," Cobra replied, smiling around his cigar.

"An intriguing proposal," Nash said, thinking it over. "Very well. This arrangement is agreeable to me."

Cobra took Nash's hand, and squeezed. "Tell the little rodents to fix me a drink."

The bookends jumped out of their seats, but paused when their boss said, "Two."

"And a glass of water," Teelana added.


	8. Ch 05

FIVE

Docking Bay 83

Gravnine Spaceport

Planet Wayfarer

4 July 2017

The Horde garrison commander had indeed heard about Cobra's arrival on the planet. He did not know where the man had gotten to, and his shocktroopers were not very forthcoming with information. However, Commander Caras knew the bounty hunter would eventually have to return. So he settled down with his hired group of local gutter trash to wait.

After several hours of waiting and growing anxious, Caras finally received a report of two humanoids entering the target docking bay. One was a one-eyed, dangerous-looking male and the other was a beautiful female. While Caras did not know who the female was, the male had to be Cobra, so he and his hired thugs moved out.

Swaggering into the bay, the portly commander hooked his thumbs under his belt and bellowed, "Cobra! I know you're in there. Come on out. We need to talk." The shocktroopers were conspicuously absent, and there was nothing else going on around the ship. "Cobra!" Caras bellowed again.

"Right here, Caras," Cobra said evenly.

The commander and hired help whirled about. Everyone immediately reached for their weapons, but paused when they spotted the long-barreled projectile pistols already in the bounty hunter's hands. Although the weapons dangled at his sides, Cobra could easy shoot the group of five people down before no more than one or maybe two managed to clear leather.

"Been waiting for you," Cobra finished. He didn't holster his weapons until the horde commander waved off his underlings.

Teelana stepped from her place of concealment next to the rear of the _Ladyhawke_. She kept a careful watch on everyone. The falcon staff normally imbedded in the front face of her gauntlet was now in her hands and extended to its full length. She held the weapon loosely in front of her, ready for any stupid acts on the part of Caras' hired thugs.

"Cobra," Caras beamed, "so good to see you again."

Cobra spat in the dirt at the Horde commander's feet. "Don't blow smoke up my butt, commander. You didn't expect to see me again after ratting me out to the Val-kyrie."

Caras was visibly shocked. "I knew they had caught up to you, but I had nothing to do with that."

"Want to rethink that story before you set it in stone?" Teelana suggested evenly.

"Come again?" Caras asked with forced politeness. He held the same opinion of women that most even other male on Wayfarer did.

"Do you want to rethink your dung-filled story, commander?" the bounty hunter elaborated.

Caras looked hurt. "Cobra, I swear to you I had nothing to do with that. I don't know how they figured out where you would be at a particular time. I guess you were getting just too predictable."

Cobra got right up in the commander's face and growled, "You have a problem with me, you take it up with me directly. Don't send one of your hired twerps. And if you ever rat me out again, you better prey I don't survive. If I do, there isn't a place in this galaxy you can hide that I can't find you."

Caras smirked. "And then what? You'll kill me?"

Cobra's smile dripped venom. "Oh, no. That'd be too easy on you and not much fun for me." Caras figured the confrontation was at an end, so he waved his hirelings toward the exit.

As they filed out, Teelana added, "And if we find out you _did_ in fact have something to do with the Val-kyrie catching up to Cobra, _I'll_ pay you a visit in retribution for Zilth's death."

"Who?" Caras asked innocently.

"My predecessor. We sorceresses take the untimely death of one of our own very badly," Teelana promised, letting a crackle of blue magic fire course up and down the falcon staff.

When he was safely away from the docking bay, Commander Caras began tapping out commands into a wrist computer hidden under his left sleeve.

Teelana contracted the staff and returned it to the depression in her gauntlet. "Well, you called that one right."

Cobra grunted and waved the shocktroopers out from their places of concealment. The squad leader marched across the pad and stopped smartly before its commander. "Is the ship serviced and ready to depart?"

"Yes, commander," the robot responded tonelessly. "The spacedock authorities have been paid for the materials and labor per the mistress' instructions."

Cobra nodded. "Good. Get your troops back into the cargo bay and power down. We'll be leaving shortly."

The shocktrooper saluted, and set about gathering up his companions.

"You think we've worn out our welcome?" Teelana asked, guardedly.

"Yes. I have the distinct feeling we'll have to say goodbye to Commander Caras."

"How?"

"Why don't we let him decide?" Cobra suggested with a rye smile. He started back to the ship, and Teelana followed. "Nice touch about Zilth, though I don't recall reading anything in the Val-kyrie report that she was a sorceress."

It was Teelana's turn for the wry smile. "How do they know Zilth _wasn't_ a sorceress, hmm? No one really knew anything about her, and you did say I should try adlibbing where necessary."

Cobra cracked a warm smile, "Good thinking. C'mon. Let's get the pre-flight done while we have the chance."

Teelana felt strangely giddy at the complement, and was beaming as she ran through the exterior checks.

They didn't have long to wait. Teelana went inside to ensure the shocktroopers were secured, and the ship was ready to fly. She had just finished the pre-flight checklist when she heard a muffled synthesized voice shouting somewhere in the docking bay. That was quickly followed by laser fire, and the distinctive hammering cacophony of Cobra's projectile guns.

Cobra had been loitering under the forward wing on the starboard side, watching for any unwanted visitors. After nearly ten minutes of keeping watch, he decided Commander Caras might just have made a smart decision after all. That's when the platoon of troopers stormed the bay.

The leader shouted for Cobra to stay where he was, and for his companions to stop the starship. Cobra responded in kind by drawing both long-barreled pistols, flicked off the safeties, snap-aimed, and squeezed off one three-round burst after another.

The first salvo missed, but forced several troopers to duck, spoiling their aim. The second burst blasted through the chest plate of one robot, and peppered the chest of one behind it. Both toppled over in a tangle of arms and legs. A third burst blew up the domed head of a trooper attempting to charge Cobra's position. He backed up toward the open airlock while firing into the ranks of troopers.

Enemy fire turned out to be ineffectual, due to the ship's ablative armor. Laser bolts simply bounced off the hull when the robots fired at the starship. Cobra's fire had no such impediments. Several more robots dropped when armor-piercing rounds blasted through chest plates. The bounty hunter calmly backed through the open airlock, emptying the twenty-five round clips in both pistols, leapt through the inner lock hatch, and slapped the override to close the inner and outer doors.

"Teelana! Get us out of here!" Cobra shouted up to the cockpit, holstering the pistols, and sprinting up the steps to the upper deck three at a time.

Teelana's fingers flew over her auxiliary control panel. The sub-light engines spooled up, high output generators whined as the ship lifted off. The landing strut on the nose retracted automatically as the _Ladyhawke_ cleared the bay. Laser fire continued to pelt the armored hull even as the ship roared away.

Cobra dropped into the pilot's seat, scanned the repeater sensor displays, and then took hold of the control yoke. Teelana placed her flight controls on standby, and monitored the primary sensor panel. _Ladyhawke_ effortlessly cleared the atmosphere and shot into outer space.

"Ship coming up from behind," Teelana reported. "Looks like a Horde destroyer."

Cobra reached behind his left shoulder to the navigation panel set in the bulkhead just aft of his chair. The stops they had planned to make along the way had already been programmed. Calculating the flight paths to the preset points were the longest parts.

"Hold them off. Maximum power to the shields while the navigational computer chews on the course coordinates," Cobra ordered.

Minutes passed as _Ladyhawke_ continued driving away from Wayfarer. Two more destroyers soared up over the northern pole in an attempt to cut off their escape route. The attempt was useless. _Ladyhawke_ was just too quick for them to catch. Long before any of the three warships could get within firing range, _Ladyhawke_'s navigational computer completed its calculations. Cobra transferred the coordinates to the navigation board, Teelana locked them in, and Cobra pulled the twin levers for the hyperspace engine back.

A small cloud formed in the ship's path, and it began to pick up incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, _Ladyhawke_ disappeared through the window and vanished into the depths of hyperspace.

Starship _Eternia_

Deep Space

5 July 2017

Ace McCloud got the _Eternia_ to their assigned coordinates several hours ahead of schedule, which suited the chief engineer just fine. The idle time was put to good use completing the repairs left over from their abbreviated time in the hangar bay. Jo-jo and her bridge crew couldn't do much other than stay out of the way as the repair teams went about their business.

Jo-jo had not been told who they were waiting for, or what the starship design was. All she knew was to be at a certain set of coordinates by a specified time, wait for an unknown ship to arrive, and then escort said ship back to Moon Base Alpha. Jo-jo hated cloak and dagger stuff. Like Colonel Markson, she much preferred a straight fight to sneaking around.

Watches were set to rotate every two hours. Jo-jo retreated to her quarters to ponder what was going on. Half of the Guardian Force was elsewhere on a special assignment. The remaining platoons, Beta and Delta, were going through the same rigorous training the original two platoons had been put through when the Guardian Command was first formed.

Their presence onboard was not needed for this mission. General Hammond had promised that they would be put on board along with a full arsenal of weapons and equipment once the escort mission was completed. What they were going to do with a full arsenal and only half the troops was anyone's guess.

And then there was the heavily encrypted message waiting for her once the ship was safely away from Earth. It took almost a minute to go through the authentication process. Another three minutes were needed by the computer to decode the message for Jo-jo to read. In the end, it didn't say a whole lot more than she already knew or suspected. She did get the impression that there was something really big going on, and that secrecy was the order of the day. Secrecy on the order of that which had protected the knowledge that the Allies were decoding Hitler's Enigma messages in real time back during World War Two.

That was enough for Jo-jo, at least for the moment. The way she figured it, _Eternia_ would have a major part to play in the drama that was slowly unfolding. She'd just have to wait and see what it was.

The alien starship emerged from hyperspace right on schedule. Jo-jo arrived on the bridge as the unfamiliar craft drifted to within ten-thousand meters of the _Eternia_. The alien was considerably smaller than Jo-jo's starship, but it was nearly twice the size of a dropship. It would have to be in order to have sufficient capability to come from – wherever.

Lieutenant Satori scanned the ship and judged it to be something on the order of a long-range shuttle. It could hold approximately four to five people in relative comfort while maintaining considerable range.

"Hail them, Lieutenant," Jo-jo ordered Satori.

Novina made several attempts before finally receiving a reply.

"We read you, _Eternia_. We are ready to follow you to our meeting on Earth," a female voice replied.

"May I ask to whom I am speaking?" Jo-jo said, crossing her arms.

"Not over an open frequency," the female answered evenly.

Harley's board beeped for attention. "Receiving authentication signal," he reported. After a moment, he added, "It checks out, captain."

Releasing a frustrated sigh, Jo-jo ordered, "Okay, Ace. Set course for the moon."

Ace acknowledged the order. He conversed with the other craft to gauge what a comfortable speed would be to allow them to get out of the area as quickly as possible without leaving the little ship behind. They were all surprised to find out that despite its small size, the alien ship could outdistance the _Eternia_ because its hyperdrive was far more efficient.

_Eternia_ wheeled about, pointed her nose toward home, and blasted into hyperspace with the tiny alien starship following close behind.

Starship _Ladyhawke_

Drifting Near the Val-kyrie System

5 July 2017

They had made a relatively clean escape from Wayfarer. Instead of changing course for their second set of coordinates after leaving the planet, Cobra dropped the ship out of hyperspace and stayed there. Teelana punched the next set of coordinates from the navi-computer into her navigation console. Cobra engaged the sub-light engines for a full minute before shutting them down. Then they turned off all systems except for minimal life support and the passive sensor array.

Cobra turned the cockpit lights down to what he called 'mood lighting', and settled in to wait. Teelana asked repeated what he was waiting for, but he refused to answer. He would only say that she would soon see the method to his madness. Seeing she wasn't going to get anywhere with him, Teelana slouched into an angry huff, arms folded beneath her breasts. Her smoldering gazed all but burned a hole in the view port directly in front of her.

Tense minutes slowly crawled by. The longer they waited, the more patient Cobra became, and the more impatient Teelana grew. She was about to demand for the final time that he tell her what was going on when the passive sensors bleeped for attention. Teelana clamped down on her demand, sat up, and eyed the sensor display.

A hyperspace cloud was forming behind them. Because of the velocity incurred before the engine had been shut down, _Ladyhawke_ was well out of danger of a collision from the starships about to exit from hyperspace. Two ships emerged into real space several million kilometers behind the _Ladyhawke_. Teelana held her breath as the warships coasted in their general direction. Active sensor beams swept the immediate area, but the warships did not engage their drives to catch up to them.

The bows of both Horde ships turned away suddenly, and they blasted off back into hyperspace. Teelana stared at the empty display for a full minute before breaking the silence.

"Did you know they wouldn't follow us?" Teelana whispered.

"Actually, they are following a course their computers figured we took from here," Cobra replied. "Ships leave a brief wake in hyperspace. A kind of footprint another ship can follow. If we had taken off when you wanted, those destroyers would still be following us."

"So you figured continuing on course, but in real space, _and_ completely powered down would throw them off," she surmised. "But there was still a chance they would spot us. Rocks in space don't usually follow a straight-line course."

"True," he agreed. "But they would have had to have spotted us first. Going cold and dark like this is like a submarine going ultra-quiet." Cobra looked at his beautiful companion for the first time since they had dropped out of hyperspace. Seeing her confused look, he elaborated. "Basically, we made like a hole in space."

"Ah. Combat tactics."

Cobra grinned. "I'll make a soldier out of you, yet."

"I like myself just the way I am." She immediately regretted that statement when she saw the look on his face. "You're fantasizing about me again, aren't you?" she said, reproachful.

"Yes. I was just wondering how beautiful you would look in a dress," he admitted boldly. He unbuckled the safety belts, and rose.

"We are being hunted by the Horde, and who knows who else, and you're having delusions," Teelana scolded.

"Well, if you're going to have them, go for the really _satisfying_ ones," Cobra answered, winking with his good eye, and then left to go clean his pistols.

"Next you'll be having more intimate fantasies about me," Teelana grumbled sullenly to herself.

Twelve hours later, _Ladyhawke_ continued making like a hole in space, drifting along the preset course in normal space. They had not moved out hours after the Horde warships had first come through. They had returned several hours after the first sighting, presumably on their way back to Wayfarer, or the nearest Horde military base. The warships would appear in the area two more times. The last appearance literally took the vessels right past the _Ladyhawke_ at a 'relative' distance of over one million kilometers. That was when they found out just how good the sensor cloak really was. Teelana had forgotten all about the cloaking system until that moment, when she realized the cloak had been operative the entire time.

Now, Teelana sat in the darkened cockpit, wrapped in a fur blanket, leaning against the starboard bulkhead, and staring through the side view port at the sea of shimmering points of light.

"My. You have gotten quite an education today," a familiar voice replied, whimsical.

Teelana started at the sound of Falcon's voice. "Leave me alone," she said without her usual enthusiasm.

"I would," the specter sitting in the pilot's seat replied. "However, you and I are irrevocably linked."

"So you are a tactician, now?" Teelana asked, still staring out the side view port.

Falcon nodded. "It happens when you make war long enough. And it appears I have become a babysitter, as well."

Teelana turned sharply away from the view outside, and snapped, "I _know_ you're not talking about me."

Falcon made a show of looking about the cockpit. "I don't see anyone else sulking in here. Do you?"

"I am not sulking," Teelana said defiantly.

"Yes you are. It's not about the hair-brained mission, I know that much. You looked right at home during that meeting with Boss Nash," Falcon pressed on. "Are you sure you don't have an evil twin somewhere?"

Teelana tried to suppress her smile, but Falcon had been looking for it.

"Okay. It's not directly related to the mission," the specter confirmed. Finally, she got right to the point, demanding, "Out with it!"

Seeing that Falcon was not going to just go away and leave her in peace, Teelana sighed wearily. "He should be focusing on the mission, not fantasizing about me."

"He? You mean Cobra? It's about the dress thing, right?" Falcon asked for clarification. When Teelana nodded, Falcon scoffed, "He's a man! What did you expect? I know dozens of women who would have been flattered by that comment. Well, Cirandar would have been." Falcon leaned on the center console, staring hard at her companion. Suddenly, the reality of the whole affair hit her. "You don't know how to handle it."

Teelana protested that revelation. A lot of people had paid her compliments ever since Earth had become her new home and the Guardian Force her new family.

"Yes," Falcon answered her own question. "That's it, isn't it? It's been a long time since such comments were directed solely at you, and meant as more then just a polite piece of conversation."

Teela'Na finally relented. "I vowed I would not get involved with another, or marry again after Dannon. He also said I was being too hard on myself, and that I should get on with my life."

"And you doubt his wisdom? As I recall, Dannon said you would find love again. His last thought before finally passing beyond the veil of this life," Falcon pointed out.

It was impossible to keep secrets when one was bonded with an intelligent suit of battle armor. Falcon was coming to know Teelana better than she knew herself.

"You must decide what you want," Falcon advised. "You have been given a new purpose in life, a purpose that goes beyond being the Guardian of Castle Grayskull. You have the opportunity to do and be whatever you want to. Don't waste it." That was Falcon's last thought on the matter before her spectral form faded out of existence.

Teelana leaned against the bulkhead once more, and swiftly fell into a troubled sleep. That was how Cobra found her a short time later. Carefully, he lifted the woman out of the co-pilot's seat and carried her back to her cabin. After several failed attempts, and a few muttered curses, Cobra hit the button to open the door to Teelana's cabin, and stepped through. He deposited her on the bed where he gently removed the gauntlet and armband, and then wrapped her up again in the blanket. The boots slipped off with surprising ease. Setting them aside, Cobra tucked the blanket under her feet. From a storage cabinet under the bed, he pulled out another blanket and spread it out over the sleeping woman. Once he was sure she'd be all right for the night, Cobra left as quietly as he had entered.

Teelana roused briefly, confused and wondering how she had gotten from the cockpit to her cabin. She heard the unmistakable sounds of the hyperdrive powering up, and the slight vibration of acceleration as the _Ladyhawke_ jumped into hyperspace. She drifted off to sleep once more with a slight smile on her lips.

Horde Battleship _Hoscar_

Deep Space

6 July 2017

General Rongar's sigh thinly veiled his irritation. It seemed like everywhere he went these days Rongar was putting out one fire after another caused by overzealous garrison or fleet commanders. The current fire involved the garrison commander on the planet Wayfarer. The face of Commander Caras stared out from the small monitor with poorly disguised fear. When a fleet commander calls on you, it was usually not a good thing.

"Garrison commanders are usually selected for their intelligence," General Rongar was saying. "However, a few less intelligent ones slip through from time to time."

"The destroyers were slow to respond. The troopers tried to stop the bounty hunter, but they are not programmed for speed and quick thinking," Commander Caras argued.

"Or maybe you were trying to stop him for personal reasons?" Rongar suggested evenly. "I know Horde commanders deal with scum like this Cobra on occasion. They do have their uses. But there are times when even the best commander is swayed from the path. I suggest you tell me something relevant before I have you replaced and shot as a traitor to the Empire."

"I have had several dealings with the bounty hunter calling himself 'Cobra' over the years. I have only met him once in the flesh, so to speak," Caras said, a twitch starting in the corner of his left eye.

"You're starting to bore me, Caras," Rongar replied, a warning note in his voice.

"My point, General, is that the man I confronted before he blasted his way out is not the same man I met several months ago."

Rongar sat up a little straighter in his chair. "How so?"

"He has the same build, missing the left eye, and is generally unpleasant, but-" Caras hesitated for some reason.

"But what, commander?" Rongar prodded, annoyed.

"The man I met fit Cobra's reputation more than the real man," Caras answered nervously.

"An imposter?" Rongar mused. His interest had been peaked. "Are you sure of this?"

Caras fidgeted. "I can't be certain without access to the main Horde databanks." He went on to explain about the shocktroopers the bounty hunter had had, and the female companion seen in Cobra's company.

Rongar's information indicated that the unknown companion had joined up with Cobra after saving his life while he was pursuing a bounty. Rumors that the Val-kyrie had caught up to him while he was finishing a few final commissions prior to retiring from the business were recently confirmed. The _Battlestar_-class battleship _Logoss_ had made the capture and, according to persistent rumors, killed both Cobra and his companion. It would be interesting to find out how he had managed to escape from a Battlestar full of warrior women.

"Do you have images of them? Or have you loused that up, as well?" Rongar demanded, a faint trace of humor in his voice.

Caras had been ready for that. "Transmitting now."

The trooper manning the communications console rotated its domed head in Rongar's direction. "Confirmed. Transmission complete," the machine reported.

"We'll scan our database to see what comes up," Rongar assured Caras.

Caras looked suddenly hopeful. "Does this mean I can keep my command?"

Not an unreasonable request. However, because Caras had taken offensive action against a bounty hunter the Horde regularly dealt with, it meant the commander was hiding something.

"I'll be in touch,' Rongar responded emotionlessly. "_Hoscar_ out." As the image of Commander Caras winked out, Rongar placed another call the to closest Horde intelligence outfit. The general supplied the local supervisor with all the details, along with his theory, and let the intelligence service run with it. He also requested any and all information they had on the bounty hunter Cobra and his female companion. The supervisor promised to have said information transmitted within the hour.

Rongar downloaded the images from Commander Caras into a data pad, and left the flag bridge. When he needed privacy to ponder something, his quarters were always a good place, but those quarters were so antiseptic it was distracting.

Soon, the general found himself outside the door to Sagan's workshop. They opened at Rongar's command, and he stepped inside a chamber the size of a theater. Rongar towered at a height of just over six feet, but even his stature was dwarfed by the odd bits of junk, pieces of equipment in various states of disrepair, and a great many things even Sagan could not identify.

Rongar wove his muscled bulk through the maze toward the back area where his pet project stood in complete disassembly. He found Sagan in the clearest area in the entire chamber; the upper half of his slight, five-foot, and seven-inch frame was buried in the framework of a battle suit. It was the suit uncovered on a nameless moon where the Guardian armor had been found by the Earthers several months ago.

Sagan's crew finally had the towering ten-foot tall suit of power armor disassembled as far at is could be. Meticulous repair and refurbishment was underway. Grunts and a few colorful curses issued from deep inside the gutted battle suit.

"Didn't anyone tell you this is a no-profanity zone?" Rongar said, snickering.

Surprised by his friend's appearance, Sagan banged his head on a structural support, and cursed again. He wormed his way out, rubbing his head. "Well, it's all your fault, general. If you hadn't found this beast, I wouldn't be cursing up a storm."

"And taking my name in vain, no doubt," Rongar added, grinning.

"Oh, no. I gave that up a few days after I starting working on this beast. I figured I was cursing you so much, you would be distracted from your work," Sagan replied, grinning broadly. He wiped his dirty hands on an equally dirty rag he pulled from a pocket.

"You're lucky you are a genius. Another commander would have had you spaced for talking back like that," Rongar warned without malice. "Catra usually enjoyed doing that."

"She's as psychotic as the rest of those – people – Hordak surrounds himself with," Sagan muttered. "So, why have you graced my humble dwelling with your presence?"

"I just needed a place to think, is all," Rongar admitted. His personal comm beeped. The transmission from the Intelligence Division was coming through. "Where do you hide you I/O ports in this mess you call a laboratory?"

Frowning, Sagan snatched the data pad from the general's hand, walked over to a mountain of junk, and casually brushed aside odd bits and pieces. The junk made a terrific clamor when it hit the floor, causing the general to wince once or twice. Sagan found the primary port, and plugged the pad into it. When the download was complete, Sagan unplugged it and tossed it across the only clear workbench to his friend, but not before he glanced at the images on display.

Rongar arched an eyebrow. "Something?"

Sagan hesitated a moment, saying, "I dunno. There's something about that woman… Something familiar."

Now that he took the time to actually look at the pictures of Cobra and his companion, Rongar thought that there _was_ something oddly familiar about the female. He dismissed the thought, confident that if there were a match for either person somewhere in the vast databanks, the computer would dredge it up.

"How are things going with the armor?" Rongar inquired.

Sagan chuckled full of mirth. "This thing is as stubborn as you are, which I didn't think was possible."

"It has a personality like those Guardian suits are supposed to have?" the general asked, surprised.

"General, the first thing one learns in the maintenance fields is that _everything_ mechanical and electrical has a personality. Personalities range from the best piece of equipment ever built to something you want to strap a block of explosives to, and blow it into oblivion," the scientist explained at length. He waved an arm at the disassembled suit expansively. "_This_ one wins hands down. While the technology is more advanced than ours, and fairly easy to repair, it is old. I don't know why it wasn't preserved like the others, but it makes the process a lot longer."

"I know. You have extended your original estimate several times," the general replied, replaying all the problem reports in his mind. "I know you will get it back into shape, Sagan. If anyone can, it's you."

"I hope your faith in me isn't misplaced, sir. In some ways this suit is more complicated than the _Hoscar_. Putting this thing back together is one thing. Making sure it'll function without killing you, well, that's something else."

Rongar nodded. He knew Sagan should be starting to put the battle suit back together in another couple of days. That would likely take another moth or two followed by several weeks of testing to be sure it functioned properly without being overly dangerous to the operator. He hoped to have the suit tested and proven in time for the next round of Horde offensives due to begin in about six months. Sagan knew this, and also knew that Rongar wanted the towering white and black suit ready, if at all possible.

Deciding to leave Sagan to his work and retire to his quarters, Rongar picked up the data pad, rose from his seat and began winding his way toward the exit.

"Oh, one more thing, sir," Sagan called after his commander and friend.

"Yes?"

"While I was poking around in the suit's memory, bank I came across its name," Sagan explained, following the general to the exit.

"Indeed." That came as a surprise to Rongar, who had been trying to come up with a suitable name when he had spare moments to ponder it.

"Yes. Seems it was called White Knight."

Rongar thought that over. It was better than anything he had been able to come up with. "I like it."

"I thought you might," Sagan replied with a smile. He went back inside the bay to resume work on the suit.

On the way to his quarters, General Rongar reviewed the transmitted information from the Intelligence Division, and pondered the irony of a Horde general in the service of an evil empire piloting a battle suit called the White Knight.


	9. Ch 06

SIX

Alpha Moon Base

Earth Solar System

6 June 2017

Starship _Eternia_ settled on its landing gear, and the engines powered down. The alien starship touched down on landing struts fifty feet away, facing its escort. The massive platform dropped smoothly into the ground when the gigantic hydraulic pistons retracted. The hangar doors soundlessly began to close as soon as the _Eternia_ cleared the opening, since it was the larger of the two vessels. The gigantic doors slammed closed at the same moment the platform ground to a halt. While there was no sound reverberating in the vacuum, the vibrations could be felt in the surrounding structures, and the starships.

Jo-jo's crew secured all stations and prepared to disembark. The repair crews would soon be swarming over the ship to make final checks of all systems, refuel the fusion core, and re-arm both the starship, and the dropship arsenals. The weapons bays and lockers would soon be filled to overflowing, right along with the spare parts lockers, and the perishable goods. Jo-jo supposed the next phase of the mission would be one of two things; long and boring, or short and intense.

Based on past experience, Jo-jo was betting on the short, intense variety.

The guard at the exit ramp listened to a message coming through the earpiece of his tac net radio. He was tapped into the hangar bay comm network via the bridge. When the all clear was given that the massive bay was secure and re-pressurized, the soldier nodded to Captain Majourny.

At a gesture from her, the man tapped several keys on the control panel behind his right shoulder. The inner and outer hatches hissed open, and the ramp lowered, extending down to the floor. Jets of released gases jetting from bleed ports set into the hull on either side of the ramp as Jo-jo led the way out of the ship.

General Hammond, Gabriel Burns, Nick Jackson, Anyssa, Dhalon, and Colonel Simmons awaited her at the bottom of the ramp. All were dressed up, with the exception of Dhalon and Anyssa, although Anyssa wore a less revealing outfit than usual. Jo-jo was happy to see all of them, except for Simmons, whom she pointedly ignored.

The general explained that they were going to meet the occupants of the alien ship parked a short distance away, and he wanted Captain Majourny as part of the group. Jo-jo turned over securing and replenishing the _Eternia_ to her tactical officer, Lieutenant Denton, and joined General Hammond's party.

General Hammond led to the group across the bay to the alien shuttle craft.

The spaceship had a very generic and basic design, one that would not draw a lot of attention. There were a few pits and scoring on the hull plates that was typical of space travel. The compact ship had roughly the same dimensions of a dropship, with stubby wings on the back quarter for stabilization in an atmosphere. There was no movement through the cockpit windows, so the passengers were likely in the aft section.

As the party halted at the craft's starboard air lock, the portal slid open with a hiss of equalizing pressures. The first person to exit was a tall, striking woman who wore the air of royalty as comfortably as she wore her blue gown and cape. Queen Elmora walked down the short ramp from the lock and stopped to await her companions. King Randor exited next, with his wife on his left arm. Queen Marlena wore her usual green gown complete with the proper accessories. King Randor had chosen to wear the armor outfit he had worn in the days when his armies fought the Snake Man army, and ultimately lost. His sheathed sword rattled slightly as he walked. Both king and queen proudly wore their crowns despite the fact that their kingdom was currently under the dominion of King Hiss. The last person to exit the shuttle wore an outfit as black as the shadows in the massive hanger bay's corners. It was the same outfit Colonel Markson reported seeing in his after-action report from the mission to Planet Eternia.

Skeletor joined his companions at the end of the ramp, the bottom end of his havoc staff clanging against the metal ramp and hanger floor as he walked. He surveyed the surrounding with apparent displeasure. Since he had no flesh and muscles on his head to display emotions, one had to observe his body language to gather an insight to his present mood. He presented the appearance of quiet tolerance, for he wished to be anywhere in the galaxy other than here.

General Hammond stepped forward and introduced himself. He then presented his companions. Queen Elmora rather blandly acknowledged Hammond's party, and then introduced her companions. Before proceeding, Hammond requested that King Randor and Skeletor relinquish their swords, promising to return the weapons when they left the base.

Seeing that the Quaedian and Val-kyrie were present without weapons, although he seriously doubted Anyssa was truly unarmed, King Randor unbuckled the worn sword belt and handed it over to the security personnel standing unobtrusively off to the side. Skeletor made no move to unbuckle his sword belt, however. Randor tersely told the Overlord of Evil to comply or else he would spend the entire visit locked up in the shuttle. Rumbling something unintelligible, Skeletor switched the havoc staff to his left hand, and unbuckled the sword belt with his right. Randor took the sword from his former enemy and handed it over.

No one had any delusions about the magical abilities of Queen Elmora and Skeletor. Without the Sorceress around to counteract that threat, all General Hammond had to work with was good will, and mutual respect.

Gesturing to the nearest personnel hatch, Hammond suggested they take a tour of the base while explaining in general terms the overall capabilities of his command.

Val-kyrie/Horde Border

Val-kyrie Space

6 July 2017

As the _Ladyhawke_ neared the asteroid belt of an uninhabitable star system along the Horde/Val-kyrie border, Teelana kept a careful sensor lock on a transport they had been tracking for the past several hours. They had stumbled across the ship quite by accident. After dropping out of hyperspace just inside the border of Val-kyrie space to double-check their position against the local stars, the passive sensors picked up the large transport drifting sedately along.

There were several life forms on board the transport, but they seemed to be unaware of the _Ladyhawke_'s presence. Or didn't care. Either way, Cobra kept his distance. A close-up visual of the other vessel, distorted as it was, looked vaguely familiar. Unfortunately, Cobra could not interrogate the transport's transponder for an identification without going active themselves, thereby giving away their own position.

Teelana argued as to why they were wasting time tracking a transport when they should have been making their way through the asteroid field, and then on to the penal planet. Cobra confessed to a nagging suspicion about that vessel, but could not identify the source of his unease. Teelana demanded more of an explanation, but how could he describe that the transport's actions since discovery mirrored their own? It could simply be smugglers or some other disreputable people trying to cross the border into Horde space, Cobra supposed. But that nagging feeling refused to go away.

And then there was their shadow, which had finally caught up to them.

Seeing that they were going to waste more time she considered better spent getting through the asteroid field, Teelana left to cockpit to get something to eat, and then retire to her cabin to continue reading one of the musty old books she had brought along.

Cobra was having trouble trying to figure her out. Teelana was becoming more irritable every day since leaving Earth. He knew she was having trouble sleeping. He had overheard one of her more terrifying nights from the central corridor. Cobra asked about her bad dream the following morning, but she steadfastly refused to talk about it. So he let it be.

Last night, however, had been the worst yet. This time Cobra entered Teelana's cabin to find her thrashing about under the fur blankets as if she were being restrained in some way. A particularly scary moment came when she opened her eyes and stared fearfully at something only she could see. Cobra tried to rouse her from the nightmare, but nothing he did short of slapping her would work. He refrained from slapping, choosing instead to just watch and hope.

He slipped his hand under the blanket to grasp her right hand in an attempt to somehow tell her she was not alone. As soon as her fingers brushed his hand, she clamped down with a strength Cobra didn't know she possessed. He winced as whatever pain Teelana experienced only intensified. Her lips parted in a soundless scream, although he was fairly sure she screamed in her mind. Teelana arched her back almost to the breaking point. That lasted for another few seconds and she dropped flat on the bed limp like a puppet whose strings had been suddenly cut. She stared vacantly at the ceiling and then drifted off to sleep once more.

Cobra decided to confront Teelana about it once more when she returned to the cockpit almost two hours later. She noticed the direction they were heading, and nodded her approval. He had turned the ship toward the asteroid field. Coincidently, the transport was doing the same.

"Want to tell me about last night?"

"What about it?" Teelana countered, concentrating on her panel.

Cobra explained about the nightmare she appeared to be having, and what he had done.

Teelana grew suddenly indignant. "You came into my cabin without permission?"

"I could hear you from the corridor. You sounded like you were in trouble. When I saw you it looked as though you were tied down and being tortured," Cobra answered hotly. "I had hoped my presence would have helped."

"And did it?" Teelana demanded, her face flushed. Images from the night before flashed through her mind. Terrible, disjointed imagery of something she did not understand, but which terrified her deeply.

Cobra admitted, "No. It ended a few minutes after I entered, and you went back to sleep. At one point you stiffened up so badly I was afraid you were going to break your back."

"Well, I'm fine now," Teelana bit out through clenched teeth.

Cobra studied her profile for a few moments. "My entry your cabin isn't the problem. What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. They are just dreams," Teelana said, voice strained more than it should have been if what she claimed was actually true.

"Did you have these dreams before we left?" When Teelana didn't answer, Cobra brought the _Ladyhawke_ to a halt and locked out the controls. "Talk to me. What is going on? We're going to jump into a viper's nest and I need to be sure I can count on you. Because if I can't, I'm transmitting the abort code, and heading for home."

Teelana took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "They started soon after we departed. I sometimes see visions of the future. Things that may or may not happen. I have never experienced anything this profound before, but I will not let it affect the mission." Cobra did not looked convinced, so she whispered, "Please. Don't abort the mission. We can't afford it. This is our only chance. Please."

Cobra stared at her a moment longer, saying, "Once we cross that asteroid field we're committed. You better be right."

"I promise," Teelana said, wondering how was going to keep it based on the events of last night.

Laser blasts suddenly pummeled the shields breaking off further conversation. Cobra and Teelana turned to their respective control panels. Cobra's screen displayed more incoming fire, so he took a firm grip on the control yoke, slammed the sub-light engine throttles all the way to their forward stops, and began evasive maneuvers. Teelana intently studied her sensor board looking for the enemy.

"What have you got?" Cobra demanded grimly. He barely managed to evade the next barrage of laser bolts.

"It's a capital ship," Teelana answered. "Snuck up from behind."

"We're close to the border between Val-kyrie space and Horde space. Probably stumbled across a regular patrol," Cobra surmised. _Or it could be our mysterious shadow._

The ship bucked violently from more proximity explosions. Cobra launched into another series of evasive maneuvers, but the enemy tracking system followed his every move.

"That's not a destroyer or cruiser out there," Cobra growled. "Probably a battlecruiser or a corvette."

"Don't be so negative," Teelana shot back, finally getting a lock and identification on the enemy starship. "It's only a battleship."

"Don't tell me…"

Teelana nodded. "_Battlestar_-class. Transponder ID is the _Logoss_."

Cobra rolled his eye. "Of all the commanders we had to run into, why did it have to be Fontaine?"

"Your karma strikes again," Teelana quipped.

"Well, you certainly haven't been a geyser of good fortune lately," Cobra snapped.

Another blast rocked the ship. Something exploded in the rear of the ship as a result. Soon acrid smoke drifted in through the ventilation system. A flashing ruby light on the center panel indicated a damaged hyperdrive. Growling obscenities, Cobra flung himself out of the pilot's seat, and rushed aft. Teelana had to jump up and swing around the center console to grab the control yoke. She sank into the seat while trying to keep the starship out of the battlestar's gun sights.

Cobra stumbled into the engine room, yanked open a tool locker, and rooted around inside for the right kit. After a few tense moments, and a few heaves of the deck, he found the kit he wanted. Setting the tools aside near the back of the room, Cobra slid his fingers through a grate and heaved it out of the way. He pulled the other panel out of the way, grabbed the kit, and dropped into the equipment bay.

Components sparked and sputtered, but the systems were not critical. He located the hyperdrive unit at the bottom of the bay near the back. On the surface, everything appeared to be fine. The diagnostic lights ready all green, so whatever blew out, it wasn't the hyperdrive unit. A control crystal or two would be a better bet.

Cobra set to work while Teelana continued her fruitless struggle at the controls. He had to climb out of the bay and retrieve tools from the locker several times, cursing about not having a proper mobile box all the time. Not being able to find the damage circuits and components didn't help his mood any, either.

The ship lurched suddenly from a solid impact, jumping a tray of tools over the bay's edge. Cobra cursed loudly, and poked his head out, rubbing the impact point. The ship lurched again from another impact, forcing him to grab for the edge or be thrown back into the bay.

"That wasn't a laser blast," he said to himself. "Something hit us."

The ship rocked again, and Teelana's strained voice blasted from the intercom. "Cobra! Get up here!"

"_Now_ what?" he muttered, levering himself out of the bay, and dashing into a side corridor.

Teelana stood and moved to the co-pilot's seat as soon as Cobra appeared at the open hatch to the cockpit. "Asteroids," she said grimly.

"Perfect," Cobra replied, grinning slightly as he slid into the pilot's seat. "Set course two-one-five."

The woman did as requested, tapping controls and verifying the result. "You're not _really_ going into the heart that asteroid field?"

Smiling grimly, Cobra answered, "The Val-kyrie would be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?"

Her calm demeanor slipping a bit, Teelana spat, "This is not the _Eternia, _and you don't look anything like Ace McCloud."

"Nag, nag, nag" Cobra growled, throwing the ship on a collision course with flying rocks bigger than the Battlestar chasing them.

New tracks appeared on the sensor board. Four Bladewing fighters streaked from launch tubes in pursuit. Cobra ordered a complete scan of those ships while he ducked and dodged rocks bouncing around the field like pin balls. A chunk of killer rock/iron tumbling straight toward them exploded at the last possible moments by an errant blast from the fighters. Shards of razor-sharp boulders pounded the shields as Cobra dove through the debris.

"We have to deep enough into the field to discourage them from following," the one-eyed man reminded his companion.

Teelana gulped as the ship twisted into a stomach churning dive away from an asteroid as big as the pursuing Battlestar, and aimed for another one-third that size.

One of the blips representing a fighter suddenly winked out when it and a sizeable boulder merged. The three survivors pressed the attack despite the loss. Their mother ship began blasting away at the tumbling asteroids to clear a path for its massive space frame.

_Ladyhawke_ fled deeper into the asteroid field, forcing the fighters to follow at their own peril. A second one struck a glancing blow against a flying chunk of rock, but it was enough. Tongues of uncontrolled energy flickered over the fighter's surface as it tumbled out of control toward a boulder the size of a medium-sized cargo transport. The crippled Bladewing exploded just before impact.

"We're going to get killed if we stay out here much longer," Teelana remarked, eying the sensor board nervously.

"Can't argue with that," Cobra agreed. Prying his eye from the asteroids whirling by outside long enough to glance at his sensor repeater display, Cobra spotted some enormous chunks of rock deeper in the field. "I'm going to get closer to one of the big ones."

"Is that wise?"

"You got a better idea?"

"Not at the moment."

_Ladyhawke_ dove deeper into the mass of speeding rocks juking and diving around killer chunks that sometimes glanced off the shields. The two remaining fighters struggled to keep up with the seemingly reckless pilot of the cargo ship. They experienced even more close calls because the tiny fighters lacked shields powerful enough to deflect more than fist-sized chunks of debris.

Cobra led the pursuers on a merry chase closer and closer to the largest asteroid in the vicinity. It was a titanic chunk of starship-killing rock the size of Texas. Over the eons it had been tumbling about in the field, it had sustained many impacts, leaving the surface cratered and fractured.

The terrain-following radar worked perfectly as the _Ladyhawke_ skimmed the asteroid's craggy surface. One misstep and the ship would splatter itself across the rock's face. The fighters trailed close behind at about five thousand yards. Blue laser bolts lanced across the distance, but the wild fire only blow up geysers of molten rock. The Val-kyrie followed their quarry into an impact crater five miles deep and over twenty miles across. At the speeds the starships were traveling, such distances flashed by in a matter of seconds.

Cobra spied a narrow fissure that had been opened as a result of two impacts close together. The fissure led from one crater to the other. Teelana stiffened and clutched the edge of her console with a death grip as Cobra stood the _Ladyhawke_ up on the port wing, and blasted through the narrow channel at break-neck speed. The Val-kyrie attempted to match his maneuver, but failed the get their craft lined up correctly.

Brief fireballs marked their fiery passing from this life into the next.

Teelana spotted a suitable cave to duck into, and pointed it out. Switching on the powerful spotlights, Cobra followed her lead and drove the ship through the opening. He flew deep into the cave where the Val-kyrie would not find them without coming in after them.

For the moment, they were safe.

Teelana grew bored watching the passive sensor display, so she set the alarm and wandered back to the engine room. She found Cobra in the open access bay working on the hyperdrive. Fortunately, the damage had been minimal, and easy to repair. The repairs were just time-consuming. With a Val-kyrie Battlestar still prowling their side of the asteroid field, time was abundant.

"Are you sure you can fix the hyperdrive?" Teelana teased. "It is a far cry from a jet engine."

Cobra muttered something unintelligible because he was so deep in the bay. Teelana did not have to hear it to know it was probably rude. He finally poked his head up long enough to locate another tool in the open kit near the edge. "I have a little help," Cobra answered, tapping the silver medallion with the tool he plucked from the kit. "Shouldn't you be watching the passive sensors?" He dropped back into the bay without waiting for a response.

Teelana stepped closer to the bay and sat cross-legged near the edge so she could converse with Cobra without having to shout. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"If we hadn't been arguing, we would have seen the Val-kyrie coming."

"True, but I suspect that Battlestar was our shadow," Cobra replied. "You wanna tell me about the nightmares?"

Teelana sighed. "I thought you were going to leave that alone."

Cobra glanced up from the burned out part that was giving him problems long enough to say, "No," and then returned to trying to remove the module. "They say confession is good for the soul," he added gently.

"Not in this case," Teelana said.

With a shout of triumph that made Teelana jump slightly, Cobra tossed the junk part out of the bay. He popped up, crossed his arms of the edge and stared his companion in the eyes.

"We are a day away from our objective and I have a partner who can't concentrate on the mission. This is a recipe for disaster," Cobra said, his gaze unwavering. "In case you hadn't noticed, we are the best there is. We get that way by working with the best. If you can't trust the people you work with, you are as good as dead. Let me help." It wasn't quite a plea, but it was very close.

_He is correct, te Lynia,_ Moria injected.

"Shut-up," Teelana hissed.

"Excuse me?" Cobra asked, caught off guard.

"Not you. Someone else," she said, flustered.

"Well?"

Sighing, and seeing no way to avoid this, Teelana began her tale. Cobra slipped back into the bay while she talked. "I was continuously interrogated as to where I came from and how I and the _Eternia_ can to be in orbit of Earth's moon. I have struggled to recall what happened, but always draw a blank. What I can remember is being a consciousness trapped within the starship's computer. All the vital systems had been automated so that the computer could fly it with only one person at the controls. That person was to be He-man. He and I were taking the starship back so that it could be used in the battles with our enemies."

Cobra tossed another damaged part out of the bay and across the deck to the pile of such parts. He replaced several tools in the tool kit, selected three others, and disappeared with a replacement part in hand.

"All was going well. The launch and climb out of Planet Primus' atmosphere went as it usually did," Teelana continued. "We were ready to make the passage through space and time back to Eternia, and He-man activated the controls." Teelana struggled with her next thoughts.

Disjointed images of an eerie place without substance or form sprang to mind. Faces floated before her slightly out of focus so that she could not identify them. There were two overwhelming feelings about the whole thing. One was that she had been tied down in some way. The second was unbelievable pain.

"There were unexpected gravitational forces when we closed on the temporal portal. The engines quit about twenty seconds from the event horizon. We drifted across on inertia alone. The next thing I remember after entering the portal was two men in bulky, white suits standing over me on the bridge of the _Eternia_," Teelana concluded.

"And the dreams are repressed memories of what happened immediately after entering the portal?" Cobra asked, fitting a new component into place.

"I don't know. They could be," Teelana answered confidently. The slight tremor in her voice said otherwise.

_You might be right, te lynia. These memories may have been purposely repressed by someone... or something. Have you considered what might occur should you suddenly remember them? _Moria pointed out.

Teelana snapped angrily, _This does not concern you so stay out of my head._

Moria chuckled. _Quite the contrary, my dear. It concerns me more than you can possibly know, considering that I have a vested interest in ensuring that the Guardians do not fall a second time._

Teelana's mind reeled. _Fall a _second _time? You knew of the first one?_

Moria chuckled again. _I know many things, te lynỉa. Perhaps I will share some of them with you – in time. Farewell, for now. And good luck._

Cobra interrupted Teelana's thoughts. "I need to know if you can concentrate on the mission."

"Yes," Teelana answered emphatically, after a moment's thought.

Cobra stared deep into his companion's eyes. Teelana returned the stare pound for pound. It wasn't hearing the words Cobra was looking for. The eyes were considered the window to the soul in certain cultures, so he was looking for the truth in Teelana's. He found it, and was satisfied; much to Teelana's relief.

Cobra pointed to a coiled wiring harness lying on the deck near an electronics trunk. "if you want to feel useful, that wiring harness needs to be replaced. You'll find the bad one over in that electronics trunk. It's a pretty tight space so be careful."

Teelana unfolded her cramped legs and slowly got to her feet. She took a moment to stretch tight muscles and then walked over to the coil of wiring. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "You seem pretty light-hearted since leading four Val-kyrie pilots to their deaths pursuing us."

"Are you sure four Val-kyrie are dead?"

That was an odd question even from Cobra. "I know death when I see it. I've been there and done that. Remember?"

"Really? Then why don't you check the sensor logs," Cobra challenged.

Frowning, Teelana walked over to the nearest computer console and accessed the sensor logs from the chase through the asteroid field. She located the correct files after a brief search, and reviewed the recordings. Teelana's features transitioned from irritation to confusion to shock, and finally settled on disbelief. She turned back to Cobra.

"How did you know?"

"I didn't. It does make sense that a race as advanced as the Val-kyrie would employ unmanned vehicles, however," he explained. He reminded her that the sooner they completed their repairs, the sooner they could get on with the mission.

"You are so…odd," Teelana said to herself, disbelieving. She picked up the wiring harness, a small tool kit and squeezed herself into the electronics trunk to begin the repairs.

Several more hours of careful diagnostics and repairs, and the _Ladyhawke_ was ready to continue. Cobra flew out of the asteroid cave and tore off into the field once more, at a pace only slightly less than the break-neck pace he used earlier.

Commander Fontaine watched the sensor display floating in the air above the bridge pit crew. _Ladyhawke_ steadily made her way toward the Horde side of the asteroid field. Since the _Logoss_ was drifting silently on the Val-kyrie side of the rock field, many of the bridge crew watched silently as the bounty hunter got away. After they initially lost contact, Commander Fontaine called had a meeting with her department heads to reveal what was going on, and to pass that information on to the people in their sections.

It was no secret they had been chasing Cobra once more, though no one knew just how he had managed to escape after being captured a month earlier. Fontaine had been left with little choice but to let her crew in on the mission lest some overly zealous crewmember take matters into her own hands, especially after the loss of four Bladewing fighters. Once her crew knew the fighters were from the compliment of unmanned drones carried for hazardous recon missions, and what this mission was really all about, they were eager to play there part in the continuing drama.

Fontaine's crew was more loyal than most capital ship crews in that she usually went out of her way to praise her crew's successes, and made sure command did not forget them. The result was that Fontaine's crew would do anything for her. So when it became known that she supported the Guardian Command's wild plan, naturally the crew did, too.

On the map display of the local sector of space, the point of light representing the _Ladyhawke_ winked out. The first officer confirmed the bounty hunter's ship had just jumped into hyperspace.

Fontaine acknowledged the report. She let her ship drift through space for another ten minutes and then ordered her crew to secure from silent running. As the ship came alive around her, she ordered the navigator to lay in a course for a pre-arranged set of co-ordinates. The helmswoman engaged the hyperdrive as soon as it was powered up.

The floating screen above the pit crew dissolved as the warship jumped into hyperspace. There was nothing left outside to monitor so the tactical officer shut the display down.

Fontaine leaned back in her seat reflecting on the outrageous mission currently underway. It was so ludicrous, so completely out-of-the-box thinking that the Horde would _never_ expect it, which was why it had a better then even odds of actually succeeding. Everything appeared to be going according to plan.

So far.


	10. Ch 07

SEVEN

Alpha Moon Base

Earth Solar System

7 July 2017

The mission operations chamber buzzed with activity like it did any other day. The arrangement was similar in design to NASA's Johnson Space Center where space operations are normally monitored from. Three gigantic video screens dominated the forward wall. Smaller television screens where hung from the ceiling over their respective areas. All control stations were layered in a tiered design kind of like the sloping floor in a movie theatre.

A central isle accessed all rows with isles along the walls. Each row monitored different operations from spacecraft tracking, orbital junk tracking, solar system surveillance, base operations, and other miscellaneous functions. The lowest row on the right facing the three mammoth screens was generally the least important, and therefore out of sight and out of mind. All the sensor nets in the solar system were monitored here including the tracking of junk left in orbit characteristic of a civilization achieving decades of spaceflight.

It was here that the _Ladyhawke_'s progress was tracked. Anyssa arranged for a special, and limited, authorization from the Val-kyrie government to tap into their remarkably extensive web of senor satellites strewn throughout explored space. No one was really interested in this row on monitors because the mission had barely begun. While noting that the _Ladyhawke_ was very near to landing on the target planet was important, it wasn't Earth-shattering news. Success of the upcoming difficult part would make this row of people the most important in the room, but not until then.

General Hammond normally came in first thing in the morning for a status report, but he delegated that task to Colonel Simmons today. The general was on Earth showing off the installation at Area 51 to their alien visitors. Hammond had even taken the warrior woman and the feline with him.

Simmons didn't like Dhalon, and the feeling was mutual. Simmons thought they would be better off simply building their own fleet of warships manned by human crews instead of trying to make allies. Hammond argued that the Earth could not stand alone against the Horde. The Guardian Force, even bolstered by the six suits out sentient power armor, would not fair any better.

The main problem with going it alone was logistics. Where could the shipyard be kept that the Horde could not find and destroy it. Although this sector of the galaxy was largely unexplored by the Horde, it didn't mean that they couldn't map it out in a matter of a few weeks. Not with the amount of Imperial warships rumored to be in operation.

The colonel shook himself back to the present. The officer on duty reported to Simmons as soon as he was spotted. The young lieutenant informed the colonel of the _Ladyhawke_'s current position and course heading. Simmons grunted in reply, and sent the man on his way. The colonel walked down the steps and gazed up at the central monitor. Displayed on it was a map of the target sector of the galaxy deep in Horde space. A flashing red icon of the _Ladyhawke_ displayed the ship's current location. The infiltration team was almost at the planet Hel. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much longer.

General Hammond led his group into the massive research hangar where Gabe Burns could usually be found in the Area 51 complex. Gabe took over the tour explaining the many operations currently in work. King Randor and his wife were genuinely interested in everything they had been shown thus far. Anyssa had seen some of the equipment being tested here in actual operation like the War machine.

The vehicle sat off by itself several dozen feet from a cordoned off area reserved for the power armor. The War Machine had taken a terrible beating in what has come to be known as the Battle for Castle Grayskull. In that battle, Jake Rockwell had driven the machine into the fight unleashing its full potential on the enemy. Consequently, the Horde zeroed in on Jake and sent him and the War Machine rolling across the battlefield with a few close artillery strikes. The damage the vehicle suffered beyond snapping off the ordinance wings, top and side-mounted laser guns, and tearing up the drive train was mostly superficial to the armor. Only a few circuit boards not rigged with shock mounts were damaged. Gabe estimated another week of repairs and operational checks before the War Machine could go back into action better than before. Better because he was making modifications he didn't get a chance to do before the mission to Planet Eternia.

"A truly remarkable machine," King Randor commented, looking over the War Machine from nose to tail. "We watched it in operation through Skeletor's magic crystal in Snake Mountain. Even with the level of technology we possessed before King Hiss conquered Eternia we could not attain such firepower in such a small vehicle."

"Yes," Gabe agreed. "It gave us a lot of headaches, but you saw the resulting fruits of our labors."

"My world is a balanced blend between technology and medieval practices," the king explained. "Magic is an essential part of life on some worlds in the galaxy. Worlds like Eternia, Etheria, and even Horde World, if the rumors are true. But here on Earth you have drifted away from that."

"Magic is something that exists only in mythology now," General Hammond replied. "What we call magic these days is nothing more than illusion and slight of hand. The Sorceress is the only true magic-user insofar as your definition of the term is concerned."

"Speaking of whom, where is the Sorceress? I would like to speak to her. I have many questions for her," the king said pointedly looking around. "I don't even see any of those amazing suits of power armor."

Hammond hesitated a moment. This was a question he had hoped would not come up until later when he revealed the daring plan currently in operation. "She is occupied at the moment. I am certain that once she hears you are here, she will be only too happy to sit down with you and answer what questions she can."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Queen Marlena asked.

"Why don't we save that for when we start the conference?" Hammond suggested. "I have included the arrival of the Sorceress and the Starship _Eternia_ in the few briefings scheduled."

Skeletor stepped up with a clank of his staff against the metal floor. "I'm still waiting to be impressed, General Hammond. You have a fine collection of inferior weapons and technology, but it will only help you just so much against the might of Horde Prime's empire."

Hammond regarded the self-proclaimed Overlord of Evil curiously. "The Sorceress told me the people of Eternia once used projectile weapons such as we have. Even today, such weapons are sometimes used among many worlds."

"Horde technology has grown beyond ballistic weapons," Anyssa supplied. "They no longer have adequate defenses against weapons such as the ones these people use. Or many of the weapons my people use. That is why our respective peoples have been so effective against the Horde of late."

Skeletor was not convinced. He was so jaded by the past that General Hammond feared Skeletor could not be swayed. Still, he had to try. If swaying Skeletor was difficult, Queen Elmora would be near to impossible. The Queen of Phantos took in everything with polite interest, nothing more. General Hammond grew increasingly convinced that there must be some truth to the Horde theories that the queen was building a secret army. Getting her to confirm even a tiny amount of said theories was going to be tough.

"However slow the Horde may be at adapting to your more primitive weapons," Queen Elmora cautioned evenly. "They will come after you with shear force of numbers which eliminates your meager advantage."

"Your Majesty, I like to think we have more going for us than just a slight advantage with, as you put it, inferior weapons," Hammond countered. "We have been at war each other on this planet for centuries. We have learned a thing or two about waging war."

"Believe what you will, General Hammond, but it will take more than conviction, experience, and the best of intentions to survive the path upon which you walk," Queen Elmora said sternly.

"Yes, well, I recall the Sorceress telling me similar things were said when He-man first appeared to take up the fight against evil," Hammond countered pointedly. "Perhaps we will fair a little better than he did. Yes?"

"Perhaps," Elmora grudgingly agreed.

The tour of the Area 51 facility continued without further innuendos of inferiority on the part of the hosts, or claims of superiority by the guests. There would be time enough for that and more when the scheduled meetings began tomorrow.

When the tour of the planetary base concluded, the tour group was shuttled back up to the Alpha Moon Base where the guests were shown to their quarters. Data pads had been left in each room with a complete report on the arrival of the _Eternia_ to Earth two years ago, and the debriefings of the Sorceress, which were more like interrogations.

Randor and Marlena read through the information several times as if they had been starving for information, which was the case. Their meals were largely forgotten while reading through the extraordinary story of the alien ship's arrival with its equally alien passenger.

"For all their abilities to reverse-engineer alien technologies, they really have not improved socially," Marlena observed, shuddering once more at the thought of the interrogations the Sorceress endured.

"They are a paranoid race. It's understandable when you consider the centuries they have fought wars with one another. In a way, they are not very much different from the races inhabiting Eternia," Randor said, remembering all the difficulties he had had forming the War Council. Getting races totally alien to one another to come together in mutual cooperation against a common threat had been regarded as impossible, but King Randor had done it once. Seeing what General Hammond was trying to do with already having acquired the trust of the Quaedians, Randor wondered if it could be done again.

Skeletor did not think so, but he still burned from the desertion of his warriors to King Hiss' camp. It did not matter that their only choice had been to serve the Snake Men, or be _served_ to the Snake Men on platters.

"True," Marlena agreed. She reviewed more of the interrogations. "It appears Earth has become the Sorceress' new home. I wonder how she can maintain her human form."

Randor pondered his wife's question, though he had not been asked directly. "Castle Grayskull had been sealed when King Hiss conquered Eternia. Now that she has returned, it seems the role of the Castle Grayskull's guardian has changed."

"I wonder if that means the roles of He-Man and She-Ra will change as well," Marlena mused.

From the beginning when He-Man and She-Ra first appeared on Eternia and Etheria, they had a responsibility to use their considerable power wisely. Chief among those responsibilities was to never take a life. Therein lay the conflict because in war there was one unalterable fact. People die. For years, the forces of evil had been fought to a stalemate. A balance of power had been established with the appearance of He-Man and She-Ra to keep evil in check.

That balance shifted when He-Man went into the future to help Planet Primus in the war again the Evil Mutants. Skeletor followed his hated enemy and aided the mutants. Randor knew this because he managed to pry information out of Skeletor about what happened in the future. However, their return to the present time had not happened as planned. According to Skeletor, he and He-Man were going to travel back to mere moments after they had first disappeared thereby negating any change in the timeline resulting from their absence.

Something went terribly wrong, now confirmed in part by historical fact and the recordings of the Sorceress' interrogations. Instead of returning to their desired points in time, He-Man and Skeletor returned to Eternia five years after they disappeared. This vacuum allowed King Hiss to free the Snake Men from the exile imposed upon them by the Guardian Zodac, and conquer Eternia in a matter of months with no one to challenge them.

When He-Man finally did show himself, he was a shadow of his former self for no apparent reason. Some would later speculate it was because of not returning at the desired point in time. Seeing what had happened to his beloved planet broke his mind. Teela was able to convince him to take up the fight once more, and he, along with the remaining Masters and a group of She-Ra's friends, fought the snake forces back into a balance of power. That balance was shattered hours after it was achieved when Catra's advance force arrived from Earth to put down the rebellion once and for all. Randor later discovered King Hiss put out a rare call for help to Horde Prime.

He-Man, She-Ra, and the majority of their allies had been rounded up and taken away to the most notorious penal planet in the galaxy where Horde Prime intended they rot for their remaining days.

After things settled down in the wake of the defeat of He-Man and She-Ra, Randor began a quiet campaign to discover where the heroes had been taken to, and research a way to bring them back. During his search, Marlena had disappeared and was presumed lost on a mission to Avion. Depressed from the loss, and determined to make a difference, Randor resumed his search at a feverish pace. He soon came across ancient records telling of a civilization that existed in the galaxy before the coming of Horde Prime. For some reason a race known only as The Ancients erased all knowledge of this mysterious civilization from the history of the galaxy except for one legend. The legend of six warriors in powered combat armor born of science and magic, who would one day arise and set right what had once gone wrong. Randor could only assume the 'wrong' was the rise of Horde Prime and his taking over control of the Evil horde from Hordak.

Randor didn't place much faith in the myth, and Skeletor denounced it without a first thought. However, as time wore on and more tidbits of information surfaced, his opinion gradually changed. After all, Randor did not place much faith in promise of a hero who would arise to aid in their fight against the forces of evil. That changed the day He-man appeared. And now the Legend of the Guardians had been proved to be true rather than some obscure myth.

The balance of power was gradually shifting. However, if He-Man and She-Ra _were_ somehow rescued and restored to their place in the forefront of the fight against the forces of evil, would the restrictions on the wise use of their power be loosened? Would they be free to use their power as needed to fight the renewed war with the Evil Horde? That would mean invariably taking lives in the course of prosecuting the war. Could He-man and She-Ra do that? Could they live with themselves for having done it?

Maybe the Sorceress, whose own role in current events has changed dramatically, could shed some light on this. Now, more than ever, King Randor looked forward to speaking with the Sorceress.

Penal Planet Hel

Deep in Horde Space

7 July 2017

"Sleep well?" Cobra asked when Teelana stepped into the cockpit.

"Fairly well," Teelana replied, still trying to wake up. She settled into the co-pilot's seat and checked the instruments. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost. That transport is heading toward the same destination, apparently. Last reading I had was when they dropped out of hyperspace in the target system," Cobra said, glancing at the counter displaying the time until they dropped back into normal space.

Minutes passed with an awkward silence between them. Cobra glanced at his co-pilot from time to time to see how she was holding up. The revelations of the previous day still concerned him, though he was careful not to let it show.

Finally, Teelana made an admission. "I'm scared. The closer we get to Hel, the more scared I get."

"We're flying toward the most notorious penal planet in the known galaxy. What's not to be scared about?" Cobra replied.

Teelana turned and stared hard at the man. "Well, you are pretty calm about this. We have no idea what we are going to find. For all we know, the people we have come here for could be dead, making this a wasted trip."

"True. But it would hardly be a wasted trip as this is the only way to confirm or deny our speculations short of an armed invasion," Cobra pointed out. "I'm scared, too, believe it or not."

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it."

"Look. Fear gets a bad wrap. I don't want anyone working with me who _isn't_ afraid. It's what you do with that fear that defines you," Cobra said. "When we get there, take the initiative. Keep them off balance. Take charge of the situation. The rest will fall into place."

Teelana smiled wanly. "I'm beginning to wonder if I made the right choice."

"You'll be fine. I can't think of anyone I would rather have along with me on this. And, ah, I hardly have the background for this sort of thing."

The navigation console beeped for attention. Cobra scanned the board, and reached for the hyperdrive engine levers. At the appropriate time, he pulled the levers back. The characteristic cloud formed as the portal into real space opened and the _Ladyhawke_ shot through it. The ship rapidly decelerated as the penal planet loomed into view. They were still millions of kilometers, but the planet looked deceptively closer due to its size.

Hel was an ugly world roughly the same size a Jupiter. The majority of the surface was shaded from a rusty red to the blazing red and yellow colors of molten lava flows. Sensors recorded temperatures in excess of one hundred degrees in the seismically active areas. The only real habitable place was a 'narrow' band two hundred kilometers wide at the equator. The seas were massive pools of sulfuric acid. The water in the habitable zone would be drinkable, but only just. Most every need would have to be imported, which would explain the transport they tailed to the planet.

The garrison was a large gray splotch to the left of the _Ladyhawke_'s approach vector in the green zone. While it was visible from this distance, Cobra could not make out details without an active sensor probe.

"Unidentified vessel, state your identity and your intent or you will be fired upon," a humanoid voice commanded.

Teelana's sensor display lit up like a Christmas tree from the many radar tracking stations locking onto them. She switched to an active probe and scanned the entire structure in a matter of seconds. Cobra powered up the ship's weapons and nodded to Teelana, who locked their targeting sensor on the structure's tallest point; the central spire.

Opening a channel, Cobra growled, "Over an open channel when you have enough sensors trained on me to be able to tell how many fillings are in my teeth? I don't think so."

"Identify yourself immediately, or we will blow you out of the stars," the gruff voice repeated.

Garrison Commander Xinder observed the proceedings in the command center. "What is that vessel's transponder code?"

The communications officer tapped a few commands into his console. He reported the code received from the unknown transport.

Before Xinder could inquire further, the transport's captain replied, "I have some nifty weapons targeted in on your location. Do you know what a quantum warhead is? My knowledge of physics isn't that great, but I'm told that one quantum torpedo is more than enough to turn your garrison into a smoking crater several kilometers deep. Now, you may get off enough missiles to take me out, but not before I release several torpedoes. A neat thing about the sensor package of these weapons is that even if you turn off your sensor beams, they have a tendency to remember the source of those beams. So, you can fire off what you have and enjoy the brief satisfaction of _blowing me out of the stars_ or you can stand down and allow me to land. I have an itchy trigger-finger on the launch button."

"Identification is the _Ladyhawke_, Cobra's ship," the comm officer reported.

"So he finally gave that ship a name, huh?" Xinder muttered. He re-opened the channel and spoke tersely into his comm mike, "Why shouldn't I take my chances, Cobra?"

"Because you're curious? You want to know what brought me all the way out to your little backwater dictatorship," Cobra said.

"Besides the credits you are still owed, you mean," Xinder growled.

"Commander?"

"I'm thinking it over," Xinder answered.

"Think quickly. I'm getting an itch."

Xinder motioned to close the channel. When that was done, he snapped at trooper manning the sensor console, "Well?"

The domed head rotated to lock the red eye lenses on the commander. "If he has quantum weapons, they may not register until they are armed and launched."

"Even if he is only bluffing about the quantum weapons, it's likely he has something that can do serious damage," Xinder mused. "And if there is one thing I know about this bounty hunter, he _never_ makes threats. Only promises."

A tense minute passed with Cobra's right thumb poised over the red button on the right arm of the control yoke. The various buttons on the yoke can be programmed to perform a variety of functions. The buttons on top of the arms were set to discharge the weapons, and the first finger buttons controlled the external and inter-ship comm systems. At the moment, Cobra was wondering if he was actually going to have to launch what was really an extremely powerful anti-matter torpedo. While it wouldn't have the destructive potential of a quantum weapon, it would still make pretty pictures upon detonation.

Finally, the controller called up that they were cleared to land in the main hangar bay. Cobra growled that he was going anywhere until the targeting beams were shut down. Several minutes passed before all of the tracking stations ceased radiating. Glancing at his co-pilot, Cobra broke orbit, and followed the guidance beacon down.

"So, have you figured out how you are going to convince him as to how you really are?" Cobra asked as he followed continued to follow the beacon.

"I have considered a few things, but so far they are things most people would know," Teelana admitted. "If we find him, I'll have to come up with something that only he and I would know. It's not as easy as it sounds."

"I'm sure you'll find something."

"There's the garrison," Teelana pointed out.

They were cruising over the fertile corridor on course for the Horde outpost. The edges of the temperate land gradually turning into the volcanic seas marking the rest of the planet, but the atmosphere within the habitable zone remained constant. Teelana theorized the Horde was using some kind of weather control equipment to maintain the conditions otherwise nothing would be able to survive.

The garrison was an immense structure with towering spires over a thousand feet in height, an impenetrable outer wall, and hundreds of weapons emplacements. Troopers, shocktroopers, and many other robots of all different sizes and types not seen before roamed the open walkways. The overall look of the garrison was cone-shaped with the widest area at the base. Along the south side of the complex approximately four-hundred feet above ground level lay the docking bays that could easily accommodate a battlecruiser.

As Cobra circled to come in for a landing, he spotted a ship nearly the size of a Horde battlecruiser, but mounted minimal weapons. Teelana identified it as a slave transport. Both of them arrived at the same conclusion, but did not voice it. The transport they had tracked to this solar system, which turned out to be a freighter, sat about a hundred meters in from the bay opening, bow pointed toward the daylight. Columns of tall, lanky robots cycled in and out of ship's cargo bay offloading the supplies being delivered.

Their assigned parking spot was two hundred meters past the armored doors, and about seventy-five meters away from the slave transport. Cobra swung the _Ladyhawke_ around to point toward the daylight like the transport was positioned, and settled to the deck. Cobra spied a greeting party approaching as he and Teelana shut down all systems. They left the cockpit for the port side airlock. The pair exited just as the greeting party arrived.

An attractive, blue-skinned woman about Teelana's height wearing high-heeled boots and a brown leather outfit that was tight in all the right places addressed the visitors. Her shy, male companion dressed like a soldier, but looking like the galactic version of a geek, stayed a pace behind.

"Welcome to Hel, Cobra. Commander Xinder awaits you in the processing area," the woman explained. "But first-" she continued, holding up a small scanning devise. The woman aimed it at Teelana first slowly training the sensor head on her from head to toe. Nothing happened, so the scanner was trained on Cobra. When the sensor traveled up to his head, the device emitted an insistent beeping. Frowning, the woman hooked a manicured fingernail under Cobra's eye patch and flipped it up revealing the terrible closed-over wound. She glared daggers. "An electronic lock pick. You know the rules, Cobra. No sophisticated electronic devices allowed."

"Oh, _there_ it is!" Cobra exclaimed with mock surprise. He growled to Teelana, "I thought I'd left it in my other patch."

Cobra's smile was full of mirth as Blue girl took the device and flipped the patch back into place. She whirled about an ordered Cobra and Teelana to follow. The woman still did not introduce herself or her jittery companion, and Cobra didn't ask. Teelana trailed behind and to his left carefully observing what was going on with the freighter unloading near the hangar entrance. With only one eye, Cobra found it difficult to watch the escorts and see what was going on at the freighter, so he and Teelana split the duty without even thinking about it.

Cobra listened to the rhythmic scrapping of Teelana's and Blue Girl's boot heels on the stained and pitted stone floor while his eye observed the layout of the bay. Many doors access the main floor from repair bays, workshops, and even a few fabrication centers. Giant overhead hoists capable of lifting thousands of tons hung from tracks which allowed the operator in the control basket to move it wherever it was needed. Blazing lights above the hoist rails cast white pools down upon the floor, but these were insufficient so work lights were used where needed.

A few humanoid maintenance teams went about their business either in the hangar or in the many workshops. Cobra tapped a code into the small wrist computer strapped to his left arm. With all the personnel walking around in the hangar the last thing he wanted was for some curious tech to wander into the ship while no one was looking. The code locked the _Ladyhawke_ up tight so that only he and Teelana could gain access, and several of the shocktroopers were activated to keep watch from within the ship.

Blue Girl led them across the hundred to an access hatch for moving cargo deeper into the garrison. She tapped a code into the panel on the left, and the armored doors ground open with an occasional squeak. Beyond lay a corroded corridor that had seen a lot of use. As the group stepped through, Cobra spotted the walkway crossing the corridor ten meters in and 8 meters up. A lone man stood on the walkway, hands resting on the rail, and eying the visitors with considerable interest.

Blue Girl showed her superior the lock pick.

A look of consternation crossed Commander Xinder's angular features. "You still trying that old trick, Cobra?"

"What's with the security scans?" Cobra shot back. "You're getting more and more paranoid every time I come here. Though rumor has it you are having some serious troubles of late."

"Well, this _is_ a penal colony."

"No kidding."

Xinder held up his right thumb and first finger with a minuscule space in between. "I'm this close to instituting strip searches and cavity checks of all detainees _and_ visitors."

Cobra grunted. "Yeah. I heard there was something funny about you, but I never believed it until now. So what happened to Farnig?"

"He was retired – suddenly." Xinder's disdain for the former garrison commander was evident. "I know about your history with him so why don't we discuss this further in my quarters?"

"Fine," Cobra agreed.

"Sevant, be a dear and escort Cobra to my quarters, would you?"

Teelana moved to accompany Cobra, but the blue girl they now knew as Sevant flung up an arm to block her.

"Where I go she goes," Cobra said evenly to Xinder.

"You and I have private business, Cobra. Don't worry about your companion she will be fine in the company of my second-in-command. Nobody will harm her, I promise," Xinder answered.

"It's not _her_ I'm worried about," Cobra countered, but yielded. This was no time to be causing trouble. He and Teelana had more important things to do than antagonize the Horde needlessly. He nodded to Teelana, who flashed a wane smile in return.

Sevant led Cobra and Teelana up into the central tower. They stepped into a lift car, and Sevant's unnamed companion faced the security panel to the right of the doors. A sensor scanned the occupants recording their identities. When it reached Cobra, however, it ran into trouble. The computer demanded that the bounty hunter present both eyes for the sensor.

"Update your files!" Cobra snapped. "I only have _one_!"

"Jaro," Sevant warned the jitter man.

Jaro stammered as he tried to verbally override the computer. He tried tapping a few command codes into the keypad beneath the sensor, but everything he tried failed. Sevant grabbed Jaro's arm and yanked him roughly out of the way when Cobra drew a pistol and blasted the three-round burst into the annoying computer.

Cobra returned the pistol to its holster, having never left his position leaning against the wall, and resumed lighting a cigar. When the lift lurched suddenly into motion, he growled, "Musta been stuck."

"Indeed," Teelana agreed, arms folded across her chest. She tried not to inhale the putrid smoke from the cigar. She absolutely hated the smoldering weeds, but it chose not to say anything.

The lift stopped at the fortieth level where Xinder's second waited to greet Teelana. He was a weasel of a man named Borfic. He wore the standard Horde uniform in a slightly disheveled state, stood a full head shorter than Teelana, and did not disguise the roaming appraisal of her body by his eyes.

Putting on her best air of haughty indifference, Teelana stepped boldly from the lift car, and seized the initiative from the rude little Hordeling. The last Cobra saw as the doors slid closed was Teelana striding down the dimly lit corridor with Borfic practically running to catch up.

Two levels up and it was Cobra's turn to exit the lift. Sevant let him almost to the tower's outer wall where Xinder's quarters were located. Sevant pressed the door chime and strode away. Xinder bade Cobra to enter, pressing a release button for the door lock. The barrier slid aside, and the bounty hunter stepped through into a collection of rooms much smaller than he would have expected for a garrison commander. They were also a lot less lavish than he would have expected especially after seeing Bass Nash's dwelling.

Xinder lounged in the sitting room at the tower's outer wall where panoramic windows gave a breathtaking view of the fertile corridor, and the volcanic wastelands beyond that. Xinder kept his surrounds rather low key except for view. The garrison command sat next to a small table. Two small glasses and a container of a copper liquid sat on the table. One of the glasses already had some of the liquor in it. Obviously, Xinder had either decided to start early, or had already been drinking when the _Ladyhawke_ dropped out of hyperspace.

The commander gestured to the empty seat across the table from him. "So you aren't worried about your partner, eh?" Xinder said, pouring some of the copper liquid into the other glass. "Borfic is hardly a gentleman."

Cobra picked up the glass as he sat down, saying, "Then Borfic will be relieved of certain vital, but non life-threatening, body parts."

"That might be fun to watch," Xinder mused.

"Enough to sell tickets?"

"Well, let's not get carried away," Xinder cautioned. They shared a chuckle, and watched a volcano eruption hundreds of kilometers beyond the northern boundary of the fertile zone. "I never get used to seeing that. Nature's power has a certain way of reminding us just how insignificant we really are."

"Deep thoughts for a garrison commander," Cobra replied, secretly awed by the raw power of the eruption. "I don't think I ever asked how this habitable zone was maintained. Looks like it's in trouble, though."

"Horde Prime picked this place because of its remoteness in this part of the galaxy. It had already been on the downward spiral for a long time when it was first discovered hundreds of years ago. There was some technology already in place making a large area of the surface livable despite the seismic activity. It wasn't Horde technology, and no one could figure out how it worked or who left it. It just worked, so this became the ideal place to build a garrison to monitor things and keep the inmates in check," Xinder explained at length.

"Interesting," Cobra said. Teelana would want to know about that. Maybe she would have an idea or two about who the unknown race might have been. Who knows, when they left to the garrison under the guise of looking for Cardas, they might come across some ruins to check out.

"Yes, however, in another fifty years or so, this entire area will look much like the rest of the planet," Xinder said, taking a drink form his glass.

Cobra sampled the liquor, having forgotten about it. The coppery stuff went down smooth, though it left a burning trail much like the rivers of lava scarring the landscape, and left a nice afterglow in the stomach.

"So what brings you to this barren spit of rock in the hind end of space, hmm?" Xinder said, finally getting to the point. "And don't tell me it's because of the credits Farnig still owes you. You could have requested that through a subspace call."

"Couldn't fool you, huh?"

"If you could, I shouldn't be in command. So who or what brought you all the way out here?"

Cobra considered what to tell Xinder. After all, if Cardas was getting help from someone in the garrison, he could be talking to that person now. However, he got the distinct impression that Xinder would more than likely shoot Cardas on the spot than help the man run his little empire.

"No, it isn't just the credits. I was hired as a troubleshooter. Seems you might have a leak in your security," Cobra explained. "I was hired by Boss Nash to look into it."

"A leak?" Xinder echoed, surprised. "Not possible. If there was something going on around here that shouldn't I would know."

Cobra looked the Horde commander straight in the eye. "Apparently Cardas is still in control of his organization despite being left to rot here by Hordak. It's causing a lot of trouble for the other bosses because whoever is running the outfit is muscling in on the others."

"And you think someone here may be helping Cardas?" Xinder mused. He wasn't as angry about the revelation as Cobra had expected him to be. "I can check our supply requisitions. There have been numerous attacks on our patrols lately. Maybe something was snuck through. It doesn't necessarily mean that someone here is aiding Cardas." Xinder did not believe his own speculation, however. If the crime boss did possess a subspace transceiver to continue running his little empire, it meant that someone in the garrison had to have known about it, and turned a convenient blind eye to certain materials being shipped in and sent out to wherever the man was set up.

Cobra left the man to investigate his garrison's operations all the while conscious of the fact that he might be speaking with the person supposedly aiding Cardas. Instead of discussing the possibilities of what might be right or wrong in garrison command structure, Cobra steered toward how he and Teelana could exit the garrison complex, a investigate the possibility that Cardas was still in control of his crime empire. Xinder had a few ideas, though he was reluctant to allow them to leave. Cobra politely informed the man that he and Teelana were going in search of Cardas one way or another, with or without Xinder's permission. Put into those terms, Xinder had little choice.

"It'll be dark soon. May I offer you accommodations here for the night?"

"Teelana and I will be spending the night on our ship. We'll discuss a cover story for when we run into inmates during our investigation," Cobra replied, leaving no room for discussion on the subject of where he and Teelana would be spending the night.

Xinder nodded. "As you wish. Farnig had the credits he owed you set aside, though I have no idea why he never paid it to you. I will have it sent to your ship straight away."

"Just make sure the delivery robots don't attempt to enter my ship. The result would most unfortunate – for them," Cobra advised. He pulled out a short-range comlink and activated it. A few moments passed before Teelana answered. "Any problems?"

"Oh, no. We're having a nice little chat. I ask the questions, and Borfic respects my personal space," Teelana replied lightly.

Cobra was sure he didn't want to know the details of the hidden meaning behind her words, be he would ask later, anyway. "I'm heading back to the ship. I'll meet you in the lift, unless you'd rather stay and continue socializing with Borfic?"

Teelana made a rude noise. "No. I'm sure he would be just as happy to see me leave. I'll meet you in the lift." She closed the connection immediately.

Cobra snorted in amusement. Yes, it was going to be an interesting talk back at the ship.

When the lift doors closed behind Teelana, Borfic sprinted ahead of her to cut her off before she had passed his quarters. Panting like a dog that had just quit playing 'fetch', Borfic hit the door release and gestured for her to enter.

"After you," he gasped, trying to get his heart rate to fall.

"No. After you," Teelana replied, smiling like a viper getting set to strike.

"Ladies first," Borfic countered.

"I insist," Teelana all but snarled.

Borfic led the way, hitting light switches as he went. Where Xinder's quarters were rather plain, Borfic's were anything but that. Teelana knew from intelligence reports that this man had been stationed at the garrison for many years. It made sense that a person would acquire a certain amount of items depending upon the personality. Borfic seemed to have acquired a bit more than the typical Horde minion, however.

After making a complete survey of the surroundings, Teelana came face-to-face with the vile little man. He was not bashful about being caught rolling lustful eyes up and down her body. Inside, Teelana fought down a wave of revulsion. Outwardly, she maintained the dangerous persona of a bounty hunter's companion.

"Cobra really knows how to pick his companions. You are a sip of water to a man dying of thirst," Borfic drooled.

"Somehow I doubt you suffer the burden of chastity in a place like this," Teelana spat, forcing down a shiver. She crossed her arms, right hand reaching for the hidden stiletto.

The man's eyes focused on her chest. "You may be right," he said, boldly reaching out for those luscious mounds.

In a flash, Teelana uncrossed her arms and flicked the razor-sharp blade downward to someplace very personal. Borfic froze instantly when the tip poked him, and cringed.

"Have a care, woman. With a snap of my fingers, you could be another addition to the penal population," Borfic snapped, mindful of the blade.

"And with a flick of my wrist, the female population will no longer have anything to fear from you," Teelana promised, twitching the stiletto to make her point.

Borfic cautiously backed away. "I see your point."

He suddenly snapped his right hand down across his body slapping the hand holding the threatening blade away. Teelana twisted with blow slamming her left shoulder into Borfic's right side. The move took her out of the path of the man's left fist, which had been aimed for her head. As Teelana completed the spin, her blade sailed through the empty space where Borfic should have been had he not spun away.

Borfic lunged at Teelana aiming a snap kick straight for her face. The woman ducked and dodged to her left, twisted, and punched her left fist into his ankle. The punch landed a tad high, but it still had the desired effect. Borfic yelped in pain and hobbled away. Before he could get more turned around in the direction he wanted to go, Teelana spun clockwise, lashing out with her right foot.

The Hordeling saw the foot way too late to do anything other than catch it with his face. With her opponent sufficiently dazed and confused, Teelana grabbed fistfuls of shirt and rammed her left knee into his groin. Borfic nearly vomited from the sudden sharp pain, but could not double up because Teelana held him upright. The mercenary sorceress snapped her head forward, impacting the bridge of his nose. She finished him off by slamming him up against the wall. The stiletto prodded Borfic once more, this time under his chin.

By some stroke of good fortune, the combatants had only done damage to one another, and completely avoided the sparse furnishings.

"Now, let's have a little chat," Teelana said firmly. She explained in general terms that she and Cobra had been hired to investigate something regarding a member of the prison population. She avoided using names because that little warning voice in the back of her mind said so.

Borfic proved somewhat informative, but Teelana knew he was holding something back. Whether it was something Borfic was trying to keep from Xinder, or something personal to him, Teelana could not be sure.

She had about run out of questions to ask when the comlink built into the gauntlet buzzed. Without loosening her hold or releasing the stiletto's pressure under the man's chin, Teelana thumbed the button to open the private channel.

"Any problems?" Cobra asked.

"Oh, no. We're having a nice little chat. I ask the questions, and Borfic respects my personal space," Teelana replied lightly, pressing the blade slightly.

"I'm heading back to the ship. I'll meet you in the lift, unless you'd rather stay and continue socializing with Borfic?"

Teelana made a rude noise. "No. I'm sure he would be just as happy to see me leave. I'll meet you in the lift." She closed the connection immediately. "Mention anything other than us having a polite, civilized discussion, and I'll use my magical power to plant something deep into your brain in such a way no other magic-user can remove it. That something will be so horrible that you will spend the rest of your life in restrains so you can't claw your eyes out. That's a promise, not a threat."

Borfic swallowed hard, but made no move to stop her or get in her way as she backed toward the door. Only when she was safely out in the corridor did Teelana finally sheath the weapon.

The wait for the lift was only a few seconds. Relief flooded through her when she saw that Cobra was alone. Teelana stepped inside, the doors slid closed, and the lift resumed its decent to the hangar level.

"You all right?" Cobra asked. Teelana was behaving a little oddly for having come from a 'polite chat.'

"Not here," was all she would say.

As Xinder had promised, the credits awaited at the portside hatch. No one was about, and no one had attempted to enter the ship. After making sure the case wasn't rigged with a booby trap, and that there were no other hidden surprises in the area of the airlock hatch, Cobra had a pair of shocktroopers take the heavy case into the cargo bay.

Teelana and Cobra held their debriefing in the small lounge while satisfying hungry stomachs. They compared notes from their separate encounters and tried to piece together the puzzle of what was really going on. The first and obvious conclusion was that they had to get out of the garrison. Xinder would hopefully offer to leave an exterior access point unguarded long enough for them to slip out. Once outside, they had to decide on where their targets were most likely to be found. Xinder mentioned an old acquaintance of Cobra's had made a small niche for himself attached to Cardas' group out in the volcanic lands. They agreed that once they had a direction in which to find Cardas, and He-man and the surviving Masters, Cobra and Teelana would split up. It wasn't a very wise move as far as tactical planning went, but they were left with few options.

Borfic definitely had issues. Teelana was sure he was hiding something important, and her disdain for the man was an understatement. She confided in Cobra exactly what had transpired. Blinking several times in surprise, Cobra looked at her with a newfound respect. Teelana had never had to deal with slime like Borfic before; that she had handled herself quite well boded well for their mission.

And so, the pair decided they would find a way out of the garrison and then go in search of a man who might know where He-man and the others could be found. While they were outside conducting the search, another plan would be unfolding within the garrison; a plan whose shear audacity was frightening, and very dangerous. Hopefully by the time the next day was out, Cobra and Teelana would know whether this mission was the potential coupe it had the potential to be, or a pipe dream doomed for failure, taking the last remaining hopes of a subjugated galaxy forever into the darkness.

Moon Base Alpha

Earth Solar System

7 June 2017

General Hammond made the rounds one last time before turning in for the night. The day had been long and difficult, and tomorrow would prove to be no better. While King Randor and his wife appeared heartened by the possibility of an alliance with the Guardian Force, Queen Elmora and Skeletor were anything but convinced. They believed that all-out war with the Horde was not far off, and Earth was the reason for it. Things had been almost completely settled down after the defeat of he-man, She-ra, and their allies.

The emergence of the Guardians was not a catalyst for good, as far as Skeletor was concerned. They left a trail of destruction wherever they went. One big event was all it would take to convince Horde Prime Earth had to be dealt with quickly before any other planets got the idea to fight back. General Hammond feared that Skeletor was correct on that point. The Horde had the power to invade Earth and conquer it in a matter of days, or they could render the surface uninhabitable with a massive bombardment from orbit, or they could simply blast the planet into a new asteroid belt.

If the Guardians and the Guardian Force did not stand up to the Horde and point the way for others to follow, then who else would? There comes a time when hiding under your bed and hoping the evil outside your door passes you by is no longer an option. General Hammond believed that time had been reached. Whatever the cost, whatever the consequences of their actions taken against Horde Prime's empire, it paled in comparison to living as slaves under the boot heels of a robot army.

Specialist Jones looked up from the sensor displays linked to the Val-kyrie sensor satellite network. He was as tired as the general looked, for he refused to leave the operations center during critical parts of the mission. It wasn't that the other specialists assigned to assist Jones were not competent at their jobs; it was Specialist Jones' devotion to duty which drove him to such lengths.

General Hammond walked down to the lowest level and strode down the isle to stand across the sensor boards from Specialist Jones. Hammond tiredly waved the young man back into his seat. "If I wasn't so tired right now, I'd have you reprimanded for disobeying the orders of a general officer."

"I'll stop putting in long hours if you will, sir," Jones replied.

"And I'll add disrespect to a general officer to the list," Hammond added, smiling slightly. "You got anything new?"

Jones nodded. "The package was delivered several hours ago. Landing confirmed. They're in."

"That means all we can do now is wait," the general said more to himself than to Jones. He waved the Officer in Charge over to the station. When the man arrived, Hammond ordered, "Our people have arrived at their destination, therefore, I don't want to see Specialist Jones in here for at least twenty-four hours. Let's give the others a crack at sharpening their skills with the sensor systems."

Jones reluctantly left his station in the hands of another, and accompanied the general out of the ops center. Hammond almost envied the young man who would have the next twenty-four hours to himself while the general would have to check his supply of aspirin for the next day.

Sometimes rank definitely did _not_ have its privileges.


	11. Ch 08

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1EIGHT

Penal Planet Hel

Deep in Horde Space

8 July 2017

Cobra awoke just before dawn, local time, and had a devil of a time getting Teelana to wake up. She was very reluctant to leave the warm embrace of her fur blankets. After the first failed attempt, Cobra tried very cold hands applied to toasty feet. Aside from a brief, snarling threat of being turning into something small and ugly, Teelana refused to get out of bed. Attempt number three involved something more drastic. He already knew she wore a nightgown, so he boldly stepped into Teelana's quarters, took a firm grip on both the blankets she was hiding under, and ripped them away as he literally ran out of the room. Twenty minutes later, Teelana emerged from her cabin dressed and looking to kill someone; mainly Cobra.

"Well, how else was I going to get you up? I _could_ have used a bucket of ice water," Cobra explained bravely into Teelana's glare.

"Then you _would_ be dead," she promised.

"You say the nicest things," Cobra said, beaming.

Teelana scowled at him as she took her seat. The first thing she noticed was that the starboard airlock was open. The indicator winked out a few moments later. According to her status boards, the ship was now ready for flight.

"How did you convince Commander Xinder to let us go?"

Cobra shrugged. "I told him we were going with or without his permission even if we had to blast our way out."

Teelana arched an inquisitive eyebrow. "What's this 'we' stuff?"

"We're in this together. If you're having a change of heart, you'd better get out now," Cobra said offhandedly.

Teelana shook her head. "Oh, no. If I left, who would be brave enough to watch your back?"

Cobra snorted, but said nothing. The garrison watch commander came over the comm system giving the _Ladyhawke_ clearance to leave. Without replying, Cobra eased the engine throttles forward after lifting off the deck. The ship coasted smoothly out of the hanger and into the predawn light.

Teelana noticed ruins out in the desolate area to the south. Sensor scans of the area indicated signs of habitation in the more distant parts, so Cobra flew in that direction. Thirty minutes of flight brought them over an ancient city that had not seen a living thing on a regular basis in centuries.

Thin layers of ash covered everything in sight. Even in the growing light the decayed remains had that brackish color of pond scum. No one could possible survive out here without the use of even rudimentary technology. Or they went underground.

Xinder had given Cobra a lead on haunt of an information broker the Horde commander routinely dealt with. If anyone would know how to find Cardas, it was a man called Fandir. Teelana hoped the man would know where He-man and his companion might be hiding, if they were still alive.

Cobra located a suitable landing site amid a sea of seemingly bombed-out buildings. More than likely, they had simply collapsed under their own weight as they decayed over the ages. Some structures did look as if they had suffered gravely in some sort of ancient battle. Cobra settled lightly on the roof of a building whose reinforced structure had withstood the test of time.

Grainy clouds of ash were kicked up in the wake of the maneuvering thrusters as the ship hovered. Sensors probed the ancient building looking for hidden weaknesses that would make it an unsound landing site. None were revealed, so Cobra set the _Ladyhawke_ down in his gentlest landing to date, according to Teelana.

Teelana looked around at the desolate landscape and scowled. Never in her life did she think she would visit such a tortured planet. She had seen images of places similar to this, and heard stories about civilizations who destroyed themselves, but all that paled in comparison to actually seeing it in real life.

Cobra secured the ship with a squad of troopers keeping watch. He paused for a few moments to gaze at the devastation around them. He was reminded of images taken after the atomic weapons had been dropped on two cities on the island nation of Japan. The similarities were disturbing.

Forcing those morbid thoughts aside, he strode across the roof to sealed doorway. Crouching, he pried open a small panel and connected several power cables hidden within. The sounds of circuits powering up and a motor engaging drifted softly through the closed doors. In moments, the doors parted to reveal a somewhat cramped elevator car. Replacing the panel and standing up, Cobra gestured for Teelana to step inside. The interior of the car wasn't much better than the outside of the building, but since this was their only way down, she complied. Cobra followed, the doors slide closed with tiny fits, and the elevator began to drop.

The ride was not a smooth one. Ash, dust, and dirt wormed their way into the mechanisms despite the best efforts of Xinder's people to keep it in good repair for the occasional uses the Horde had for it. The car came to a bumpy halt around the twentieth floor. They had to pry the doors all the way open when the barriers parted only a few inches. Teelana was still scowling and trying to wipe the grime from her hands when they exited the building at street level.

Cobra dug a communicator from a deep pocket in his long coat. Thumbing it on, he spoke tersely, "We're on the ground, and starting our search. On a side note, fire your maintenance crew. They ain't makin' it on your upkeep of that lift." He clicked the device off before anyone on the other end could reply, and dropped it into a pocket.

Teelana had the bearing to the information broker's home, if such could be built in this forsaken wasteland. The pair set off on foot, keeping out of plain sight as much as possible. Teelana lead the way with Cobra keeping an eye on their surroundings. No threat presented itself, but Cobra had the nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that they were being watched.

Their route wound its way to the slowly to the south. Rubbish from hundreds of years of neglect littered the streets. Much of it lay in clumps blown up against the sides of the buildings. They strode past several lots containing the collapsed remains of buildings. Most of the useful materials had been taken away by scavengers. The city must have been magnificent in the distant past when it had been inhabited. Now it was little more than a decayed shell of that former glory.

Teelana found the subtle markers pointing to the informant's lair, and set off toward a brick building that looked like any other on the street except that it was in good repair, at least good enough so as not to draw unwanted attention to it. The doors were unlocked, and they pushed through into the lobby area. Off the back of the lobby to the right was a corridor leading deeper into the building. Teelana nodded, that was where they needed to go.

Another pair of double doors was set in the way about twenty meters down. There were no other entrances or exits. Cobra idly thought this was a stupid place to have a lair. Unless there were secret passages or another exit inside the inner chambers, one would be trapped with no escape point. The façade of an abandoned building would only last so long.

Cobra tried the door latch. It was unlocked.

Teelana plucked the staff from her left gauntlet and extended to its full length, the falcon at its head spreading its wings wide. "I have a bad feeling about this," she added unnecessarily.

Teelana stepped aside as Cobra positioned himself in front of the doors, draw the pistol strapped to his right thigh, and slammed a foot against the handles. The doors slapped open violently, slamming against their stops and rebounded a few inches. Slight pressure on the trigger activated the small laser sight mounted under the long barrel. The red beam stabbed into the darkness, but nothing reacted to it.

An overpowering smell fell upon the pair like one of Teelana's fur blankets.

"Dead guy," Cobra and Teelana said in unison.

Teelana held her staff high, and invoked an illumination spell. The glowing falcon cap cast soft white light everywhere. While it wasn't normal daylight, it was adequate to make out ghostly shapes just beyond the light sphere. It did not take long to find the desiccated corpse of the man they had come to find. The stench was seriously overpowering, so the pair retreated with attempting to discover the cause of death. The man was dead. They had reached a dead end. And the larger question than who killed the informant was who was feeding Xinder information in the dead man's name?

The pair retreated from the makeshift tomb, and Teelana sealed the doors with a blast of magical energies. They left the building in short order, not wanting to remain any longer than necessary in the event someone was watching the area.

Once outside, Cobra pulled out the small comlink and switched it on. "I don't know who you've been talking to, Xinder, but you might want to start taking your informant with a grain of salt."

The commander's voice sounded small coming from the speaker. "You found Fandir dead? As in recently killed?"

"As in dead long enough to stink up a city block," Cobra hissed. "I thought someone in your position would have better sense. Either way, we're at a dead end, here." Cobra shut the comlink down and pocketed it.

He and Teelana wandered back in the general direction of the building upon which the _Ladyhawke_ had been parked. After fifty yards of wandering, and ignoring the intermittent buzzing from the comlink, Cobra stopped and sat down on the crumbling remains of a low stone wall. The plan he had formed for this part of the mission had just died in its crib. Cobra had absolutely no idea how to proceed. It was a big planet, after all, and Cardas could be anywhere to say nothing of He-man and his companions.

Even Teelana was at a loss for what to do next. She could attempt to contact He-man telepathically, but even if she did reach him, there was a very good chance he would not believe who she was, or why she had come. After all, He-man and his companions believed the Sorceress died when the _Eternia_ failed to arrive at its namesake planet. Teelana had an idea as to how she would convince him that she was how she would claim to be, but the plan required that she be in sight of He-man.

Teelana spied movement in the shadows further down the street. People were moving from one patch of blackness to another. The small groups grew as they moved along. Cobra noticed her sudden preoccupation, and assessed the sudden flurry of movement.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Teelana hissed, nervous.

A man shrouded from head to toe in rags cautiously snaked out into the growing light, pounded on what appeared to be a sewer cover, and sprinted for the safety of the nearest shadows; and greater numbers.

That prickly feeling started on the back of Cobra's neck. He suddenly grabbed Teelana by the arm and yanked her around as he sprinted up the rubble-strewn street in search of safety. Behind them, more and more people poured from hiding places in pursuit. It quickly became apparent that they were not going to make it back to the building upon which the _Ladyhawke_ had been parked. The last thing he wanted was to lead them back to his ship, anyway.

They ducked into a side alley, spied a wooden door into a relatively intact building, and ran for it. A well-placed foot next to the handle splintered the rotted door jam, and they darted inside. Cobra slammed the door and placed his back to it. Tense seconds passed as he waited for the inevitable surge of bodies up the alley, pistols at the ready. Cobra spun away from the door when the first few people sprinted by. They were later followed by less agile humans shuffling along.

All were armed with some sort of improvised weapon ruling out any peaceful negotiation.

"You're safe in here for the moment,' a woman hiding in the shadows replied.

Cobra and Teelana jumped, surprised that they failed to notice her before.

"Who are they?" Teelana asked, recovering first.

The raven-haired woman returned to her seat on a chair that had seen a lot better days. She appeared to be in her early thirties, almost Teelana's height, and her dark brown leather clothes were in pretty good shape. Either she had just arrived, the woman knew someone important. The mystery woman eyed Cobra and Teelana suspiciously, especially Cobra. There was faint recognition in her eyes.

"They call themselves the Underdwellers. They usually don't come out in force like this except when the food runs low," the woman explained, finally. "That means it's the end of the month. Their food always runs out around then. That's when they come up to look for more."

Cobra grunted, having put the pieces together. Teelana was not as quick to pick up on the implications, and asked. "They are cannibals looking for easy prey," Cobra said bluntly.

Teelana looked suddenly sick.

The mystery woman looked harder at Cobra's features. "Wait a minute. I know you." She paused, trying to dredge a name up out of her memory. "Yeah. But word around here was that you were dead."

"I am," Cobra growled, listening to the occasion commotion outside the door.

"Are you going to be leaving? I mean, I know you make trips here on occasion."

"Maybe," Teelana said, glaring daggers.

"When you go will you take me with you? I don't belong here. I was just a student trying to complete my education and become a teacher. When I and my friends spoke out against Horde Prime's 'benevolent rule,' we were rounded up and sent here as an example." The woman paused, tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffed and wiped the tears away. "I'm the only one left. The Underdwellers got the rest."

Before either one could say a word, sickening crackling sounds came from under the floorboards. The floor under the woman disappeared and she dropped screaming into the black abyss. Neither Cobra nor Teelana had a chance to try to save the unfortunate girl. Cobra shoved a paralyzed Teelana roughly toward a stairwell at the back of the room. She darted through the doorway and scampered up the stairs.

The roar of Cobra's guns hammering away at the Underdwellers drowned out their breaking down the door, and ripping their way through other spots in the floor. Blinding muzzles flashes blinded those not struck by the lethal steel-jacketed slugs. However, the savages simply shoved their dead and dying comrades out of the way in an effort to get to Cobra. Others at the rear dragged the corpses away to fill their food stocks.

Sickened by the callous disregard for life, the bounty hunter emptied the clips of each gun into the mass of humanoids, whirled around, and followed Teelana upwards; reloading on the fly. Cobra caught up to his partner on the top floor in moments. He was winded from taking the steps two and three at a time to gain as much time on the relentless horde of humanoids as possible.

"Dead end," Teelana said grimly, glancing around the room with no exits.

The pursuers were rapidly closing. Cobra knew this floor was larger than it appeared, but the hallway did not go to the other end of the building. On a hunch, he pointed to a spot on the wall and ordered her to punch through it with a burst of magical energies. Teelana was about to protest, but a loud commotion somewhere down the stairwell made her mind up for her.

Teelana focused on drawing in and concentrating magical energy, tuning out her surroundings. All that existed in her little world was the section of wall barring their path. She did not want to destroy the entire wall, or level everything on the floor. The amount of energy required for that quickly flowed into Teelana, and she was forced to shed power to reach the level required for the task.

Cobra gazed down the stairway and listened as the Underdwellers scrambled up the steps. He was about to hurry Teelana along when her eyes snapped open, and she released the pent-up magic. A cloud of dust and plaster suddenly enveloped their section of the floor causing brief fits of choking and coughing. There had been no warning, and no roar other than that of splintering wood and disintegrating plaster-like panels.

Cobra charged through the hole, Teelana close behind. There was indeed a whole section walled off, for no readily apparent reason, and had that musty smell of having been closed off for a long time. The pair soon located an escape route; a fire escape bolted to the outside of the far wall. Cobra had no idea of the direction, and didn't care. He ran to it, broke out the window, and gestured for Teelana to go first. Once again, her mind was made up for her when Cobra snapped off several bursts back toward the whole she had blasted in the wall.

Teelana scrambled half the distance to the ground, a narrow alley between buildings, and looked up. Cobra was just climbing through the window unloading rapid bursts into the mob trying to catch them. He holstered the pistols and darted down the corroded metal steps at break-neck speed. Teelana was forced to continue on down or get run over. At the bottom, Teelana sprinted for the opening out on a deserted street.

They appeared to be one block over from where they had first entered the building. Cobra tucked empty clips into the slim backpack he wore under the duster coat, pulled out a small devise, activated it, and wrapped it in the leather coat. He paused to gauge the distance, and then heaved the ball of leather back toward the fire escape.

Underdwellers were streaming out of the window and swarming down the escape like a cloud of angry bees. The first few humanoids to land on the ground paused over the ball of leather and its deadly core. One person picked up the bundle and eyed it suspiciously when the grenade inside detonated. The three on the ground and several more on the lower end of the fire escape died instantly in the blast. The survivors renewed their pursuit even more furious than before.

Cobra and Teelana were a few paces away from the mouth of the alley when a battered aircar slewed to a halt barring their way.

A balding, overweight man stuck his head out the open driver's window. "Hey Cobra! I thought that was your ship I saw flying around earlier. Get in!" the man beckoned, hitting a switch on the console. The rear door on the driver's side popped out and slid back out of the way.

Not having a better escape plan, Teelana and Cobra ducked inside. The door closed behind them, but the man did not pull away from the alley.

"The guys are never gonna believe me when I tell them I had _the_ Cobra in my vehicle." The driver fumbled with something on the seat beside him. He finished tucking a rag into the long neck of a liquor bottle, fired up a lighter, and applied the flame to the end of the rag. "This stuff is like gold around here," the man explained, totally oblivious to the concerned looks on the faces of his passengers. The sunroof slid back at the touch of a button, and the man tossed the flaming bomb out in a perfect arc toward the mouth of the alley.

The bottle exploded on contact with the ground showering the alley with liquid flames. The pursuing Underdwellers skidded to a halt before the wall of flames and could only stare in dismay as the aircar roared away to safety.

Once Cobra judged them to be safely away, he jumped forward, clamped his left arm around the driver's throat, and jammed a pistol in his right ear. "Who are you? Where are you taking us?" Cobra demanded in a low growl.

The man stopped the aircar immediately to avoid crashing. "Hey, Cobra, relax. I'm taking you to a safe place. I have nothing against you. If I did, I sure wouldn't have tracked where you landed. Nobody with any sense goes into the part of town ruled by the Underdwellers, so I figured you were looking for someone."

Cobra growled humorlessly, "Well, ain't you the observant one."

"If he knows of a relatively safe place to go, maybe we should play along. We certainly struck a dead end back there. Literally," Teelana suggested. "Who are you taking us to see?"

"A real genius. He's responsible for us having power in certain places. Makes all kinds up things," the driver stammered. "Calls himself The Brain."

Cobra had to fight to restrain a laugh. "He also has a sidekick called Pinky, right?"

"No," the man answered, not understanding the joke. "Her name is Lisel."

Leaning back in the seat, but keeping the pistol leveled at the man, Cobra ordered, "Then take us to see The Brain."

The driver nodded nervously. As an afterthought, he finally introduced himself. "I'm Marlyn." Seeing that his passengers really didn't care to know that, Marlyn returned to the aircar's controls, and drove east away from the realm of the Underdwellers and deeper into the ruined city.

It didn't take long to arrive in a relatively safer part of the ancient city. The building Marlyn halted in front of was much bigger than the one Cobra set the _Ladyhawke_ down on. This part of the city looked more like a downtown area where you would find government administration buildings. This particular one reminded Teelana of an enormous library she had once seen on the archive planet called Scolla.

The streets here were just as deserted and rundown as the rest of the city. There was less debris in this section, however. Normally, one would take that as a sign of some sort of civilization, but Cobra didn't like the feeling he got looking around. Teelana felt it, too. Although the area appeared to be deserted, they had the feeling that they were being watched.

Marlin led them through the outer main doors to the locked inner set. The driver pounded on the doors in a rhythmic sequence and waited. A full minute passed before a woman on the other side, probably Lisel, answered.

"Who is it?" Lisel demanded curtly.

"It's me, Marlin. I've brought some people to see Brain," Marlyn answered.

"No way, Marlyn! You know the rules. No one gets in to see Brain," Lisel snapped.

"No. It's okay. It's the bounty hunter Cobra, and his companion."

There was a brief pause followed by the throwing back of several bolts, and then the door opened. A tall woman with a bushy mane of black hair stood in the opening eying the trio. After satisfying herself that there was only the three of them, she stepped back to allow them entry. After they passed through, Lisel slammed the door and bolted it tight.

Teelana and Lisel were the same height, however, Lisel's clothes showed every bit of the wear and tear from years of abuse. There was also a pervasive odor in the air from infrequent bathing.

Lisel led the way up dimly lit stairways to the top floor. She pushed open the double doors leading into the main chamber almost thirty yards square. Massive bookcases littered the room at regular intervals. The ones closest to the occupied section of the chamber were packed with books, binders, and stacks of papers. The rest were empty. Papers and other trash were strewn about the floor, making walking an exercise in keeping one's balance.

_Evidently the maid is on leave – permanently,_ Cobra thought.

A slender man a full head shorter than Cobra lounged in a battered wooden chair next to a desk buried under a mound of papers and artifacts. An unruly mope of dark brown hair framed an angular face that was not unattractive, at least to Lisel. His body was thin and wiry, but not muscular.

Brain sort of recognized Cobra immediately on sight. Cobra certainly did.

"Harlin Vernius," Cobra hissed. "You remember me, don't you? A man should remember his past. You, me, and Rautha Fey. You know what the Horde did you Fey?"

"I swear to the Ancients, Cobra, I had no idea it was supposed to go down like that," Harlin said, rising from the chair.

"You ran out on us," Cobra growled, shoving Harlin back into the chair. He drew the compact machine pistol holstered at his back, and jabbed Harlin in the chest with the muzzle. "But you were caught later on, sold us out, and were 'rewarded' with a lifetime stay at this exotic resort. The finest in the empire."

Brain swallowed hard wondering if Cobra was going to exact the revenge he feared was coming over the past several years. Cobra had threatened to pay him back on several occasions, but never followed through because of his usefulness. Now, however, Brain might just have outlived said usefulness.

"Where is Cardas? And where can I find He-man and his allies?" Cobra demanded, pressing the point by leaning on the machine pistol.

Brain looked perplexed, caught off guard by the questions. "Cardas? What do you want him for?"

"That's none of your business. I want him," Cobra growled. "And I want to know where I can find He-man."

Lisel was starting to look a little concerned. Cobra never leaned on Brain this much in the past. And Brain usually wasn't this stubborn, either. She glanced at Teelana, who simply stood by with an air of utter unconcern for what the bounty hunter might do. In fact, she appeared ready to either assist the man, or sell tickets if the confrontation escalated to that point.

"Cardas is still running his empire," Cobra snapped, seeing Harlin was not going to capitulate easily. "I've been hired to put a stop to it."

Lisel perked up at that. "That's not possible. No one here has access to the outside galaxy except the Horde garrison."

Teelana interjected, "Unless someone in the garrison is on Cardas' payroll."

Lisel caught herself before automatically denying such and outrageous presumption. She supposed it was possible Cardas had someone on the inside in the garrison.

"He's lying," Harlin sneered.

"How do you know?" Lisel demanded, eying Cobra and his companion nervously.

"Look at his face!" Harlin snapped. "He's lying."

"That's right, Harlin. I'm lying. And when you've outlived your usefulness to Cardas, he'll bury you somewhere out in that volcanic wasteland."

Harlin seemed unconcerned by the prospect. He evidently believed he was too important to Cardas to even be disposed of.

"Tell me what I want to know, or I'll splatter your brains all over the bookcase and look for the information myself," Cobra threatened. Slamming his foot against the edge of the seat, Cobra tipped the chair and its occupant back against said bookcase.

Lisel looked imploringly to Teelana. "Do something!"

Teelana shrugged her shoulders. "Like what? Sell tickets? Does he look entirely stable to you?"

Lisel turned to Harlin. "Give him what he wants before he kills us both, Brain," she pleaded.

"Or maybe I'll just be it out of your squeeze," Cobra added, eying the woman as if she were nothing more than a walking piece of meat. Lisel backed up a few steps involuntarily.

"Lisel doesn't know what you want. You have to know exactly, precisely where to Find He-man and Cardas. And unless you know exactly, precisely where to find them, you never will."

Unexpectedly, Cobra softened his tone. "I brought my ship out here. Yeah. I could take you both with me."

"_If_ you make it worth our while to take you," Teelana added.

Considering his options, the man calling himself 'The Brain' finally arrived at the only viable option open to him. "Lisel, why don't you be a dear and show Cobra's lady friend what we have to bargain with?"

Lisel's eyes widened in horror. "But Brain you know we're not supposed to -" She broke off at Brain's warning glare. "All right," she sighed. She motioned for Teelana to follow.

Teelana hesitated long enough to exchange looks with Cobra, who nodded minutely to follow the woman. She was quite capable of taking care of herself, but Teelana was concerned about splitting up. She trusted Cobra's judgment in this situation, so she followed Lisel.

"Now, about this information…" Cobra began, letting the Brain's chair fall forward onto all four legs.

Once Teelana and Brain's woman were on the ground floor, Lisel asked, "Are you a student of history?"

That was an odd question. "It depends on the subject," Teelana replied, guardedly.

Lisel led Teelana out of what was once a converted library building out to the trash-strewn sidewalk. She turned left and strode briskly along the avenue skirting large pieces of debris. Teelana trailed a pace or two behind, senses probing the area for unseen threats. None were readily apparent, but that could change at any moment.

The building the pair arrived at was indistinguishable from any other on the block except that it was about the same size as the one the Brain and Lisel called home. The outer lobby looked unremarkable, just another abandoned building among a sea of thousands of others. Lisel produced a key from a hidden pocket in her tattered skirt and unlocked the doors. She locked it tight after ushering Teelana inside.

The inky darkness in the cramped lobby was broken by a primitive lantern cobbled together from scavenged parts never meant to work as a unit. Lisel probed the darkness for the correct door, strode across to it, and unlocked it with a second key. The only sounds were the scrape of their boot heels and the creaking of hinges that had not seen any kind of lubricant in years.

The portal beyond was a stark contrast to the outer shell. This was in good repair. In fact, Teelana would have sworn it had not aged. No peeling paint, no stained and scarred wood, or even a layer of dust. At first, Teelana suspected a magical ward of some kind, but her magic sense did not twitch. That meant some sort of advanced technology was at work.

"Have you ever heard of an advanced race called the Ancients?" Lisel asked, pausing at the door on the other side of a short passageway.

Teelana nodded. "I have heard of a few myths regarding them." Lying was not her strong suit, but twisting the truth a little was something she was more comfortable with.

"They are no myth. They seeded many planets in the galaxy with life, and not all of it was humanoid. They were also renowned for freely sharing their knowledge and some of their technology," Lisel droned on, ignoring Teelana's 'get to the point' glare. "Imagine machines than can transport you to any point of the galaxy in the blink of an eye! Cures for every known disease."

"When you get near a point," Teelana prodded, pointedly. Inwardly, her curiosity had been peeked.

Irritated at having been interrupted, Lisel said, "What do you know about the archive world called Scholos?"

Now there was a name Teelana never expected to hear. She dredged up what little she knew from memory. "It was an Ancient world where one could go to research anything one wanted. The planet was strewn with many libraries all containing the same knowledge and were periodically updated so that no one library contained more information than another."

Lisel nodded, grudgingly impressed. "That's right. And people have been searching for the lost world of Scholos for over a millennium. Do you know why no one has ever found it?"

"A lack of spacial coordinates would be my guess," Teelana replied. "So what does this have to do with your payment for passage on our ship?"

In answer, Lisel pushed on through the door. The pair walked down a metal stairway for over one hundred feet. It ended at yet another door, but this one looked like it had been cast from a thick plate of warship armor. The barrier swung outward with but a touch of the hand on frictionless hinges. A catwalk awaited them running along the wall to the left and right.

Teelana had the sudden sensation of being in an immense underground cavern. Lisel opened a metal box set in the wall to the left of the door. Inside were vertical rows of switching, which she began flipping. In response, powerful overhead lights flared to life like tiny suns blazing in the night sky.

The reality of the chamber, as well, as its incomprehensible size, suddenly dawned on Teelana.

The chamber floor hundreds of feet below was packed with the wisdom from another age. Crates of equipment were lined up in prefect formation. Bits of technology, vehicles, land craft, and items no one could fathom patiently waiting for a user to return. Rows of data storage devises of ever conceivable size and shape stretched into the distant darkness. Lisel said the other have of the chamber's lighting was controlled from a catwalk on the far side, and that they were only looking at half of what was stored here. The other side of the chamber had crates of equipment and storage devises stacked literally to the ceiling.

"This is the last known archive in existence," Lisel explained, though Teelana had already figured that out for herself. "The reason no one can find Scholos is because no one knows where to look." She paused to observe the look on Teelana's face. "Welcome to the planet Hel, formerly known as the Ancient planet called Scholos."

Sands of Time

Eternia

8 July 2017

Moria Vadorian cared little for the affairs of men and governments. The brewing conflicts with the Horde that can only lead to all-out war with the Horde concerned her even less. However, she did take an interest in the covert rescue mission launched by the arrogant, inferior humans of Earth, at least as far as the Sorceress' involvement was concerned.

Over the course of the past several days, Moria occasionally looked in on the Sorceress to see how the mission was progressing. Her magical pool could give Moria a view of literally any place in the galaxy, provided she had prior knowledge of the person or location.

Now that Cobra and the Sorceress were actually on Hel, Moria paid a bit closer attention. There was no danger of being disturbed because Evil-lyn, now recovered from mild injuries suffered in the Battle for Castle Grayskull, was off furthering her own plans for power. That was a good thing.

As the mission progressed on Hel, Moria grudgingly gained a bit more respect for her counterpart from Castle Grayskull. The Sorceress was turning out to have quite an alter ego. Even Moria would not have thought the woman had it in her to behave as she needed to as a bounty hunter's dangerous companion. And some of the comments the Sorceress made stunned Moria on more than one occasion.

Lisel's commentary about the Ancients had peeked Moria's interest as much as it had the Sorceress'. As far as the Dereskian queen knew, she had the only remaining archives of the Ancients in various forms. Now it appeared that was not necessarily true. Like the Sorceress, she knew of the library planet called Scholos, though even she had never been able to locate it.

Moria's agitation grew with each passing moment that Lisel drug out getting to the point of her questioning and lecturing. When the pair finally entered the subterranean chamber, Moria found herself holding her breath.

As the powerful overhead lights blazed to life, one of the greatest secrets in the galaxy was illuminated. For a brief moment, both the Sorceress and Moria Vadorian shared the same astounded looks of disbelief at the shear size of the archive. The knowledge and technology stored there would make any government or despot the undisputed master of the galaxy, given enough time to properly employ it, that it.

The immediate problem was the time it would take to clear out the massive chamber; a task that would take something on the order of years. Cataloging the contents alone would take a generation or two. The Ancients had amassed quite a bit of knowledge. It was rumored that the amount of knowledge in one Scholos library was several orders of magnitude greater than that possessed by Moria and hidden in Castle Grayskull _combined_.

Moria lost her normally serene composure at Lisel's declaration that the penal planet Hel was in fact the long lost Ancient archive planet Scholos. At that moment, Moria Vadorian's only purpose in life was a two-hold objective; rescuing the archive from the hellish prison planet, and finding some place to put it all.


	12. Ch 09

NINE

Fertile Lands

Penal Planet Hel

Deep In Horde Space

8 July 2017

"Are we crazy?" Teelana asked for the fifth time since the mission began.

"It's a little late for second thoughts," Cobra said, keeping a weary eye out.

They were crossing the barren lands on foot headed in the direction of the forest where He-man was supposed to be hiding. Taking the _Ladyhawke _would have been an obvious choice, but it would also attract too much unwanted attention.

"What are you afraid of?" Cobra asked after a few minutes of silent walking.

Teelana did not answer right way. There were so many unknowns it was impossible to list them all. "Saving that library. With so much knowledge stored from the time of the Ancients, I can't allow it to be destroyed. Trouble is I can't figure out a single way of saving it all."

"Maybe it wasn't meant to be saved," Cobra mused innocently.

"How can you say that?" Teelana nodded, stopping dead in her tracks. "Do you have any idea what is in that library?"

"Thanks to you, yes, I do. But have you considered that it might be better if the knowledge was lost?"

"I don't know what that means," Teelana admitted.

Cobra thought for a moment before finally coming up with an analogy. "What makes Castle Grayskull such a tempting target?"

"The knowledge and magical power stored inside has accumulated since the time of King Grayskull," Teelana answered, not sure where this was going.

"Exactly. A lot of magical power gathered in one place that makes it a tempting target for anyone seeking more power. What do you think will happen if you add secrets of these Ancients into the mix? Every self-styled warlord, two-bit dictator, and budding wizard, witch, sorcerer, sorceress, and on, and on, and on, will coming looking to take a crack at the castles defenses – and yours – in a bid to take that knowledge and power for themselves. And then there's Horde Prime," Cobra explained in depth. "Do you really think Horde prime would turn a blind eye to one of his enemies possessing technology and knowledge greater than his?"

Teelana admitted she had not quite considered all the consequences of saving the last remaining archive of the Ancients. But still… "Even so, you refuse to help me save the library?"

"If you can come up with a way to move what you say is in that underground chamber safely, and without anyone else in the galaxy knowing about it, or where it went, I will help you in a heartbeat," Cobra promised. "Otherwise, save what you can using your magic, and I promise you nothing that remains will be around to fall into anyone else's hands."

Teelana didn't have a lot of options. She knew of no way to save the entire archive except by using technology the Ancients created; technology that no longer functioned on this world other than the sole remaining weather control station.

"I will come up with a way. I _have_ to," Teelana promised herself.

Seeing that this particular discussion was at an end, for the moment, Cobra pointed to a spot near Teelana's feet. "Another marker. Looks like we are still on the right track."

"Shall we?"

"Follow the Yellow Brick Road, Dorothy," Cobra said with a grin.

"I just hope the wizard is in a good mood," Teelana groused.

Three hours of steady walking finally brought the pair to within fifty meters of the tree line. The temperature was markedly cooler than in the ruined city. The ash particles in the air were almost nonexistent. The trees were unremarkable in that they could have been found on any one of a thousand other planets. The trunks were unusually closely packed, however. This made it an ideal place to hid, if one went to all the trouble of carving out a place to live deep in the forest.

The sentries stationed near the outer edges had watched the man and woman slowly approach for several hours. Word was sent back to the camp of the strangers, and they asked for direction of what to do about them. The pair passed among the outer trees where they were not so closely packed until they discovered the subtle train winding its way further inside.

Cobra and Teelana knew they were being watched, and had even marked the poorly disguised watch tower up in a stout tree. The second station forty meters in was considerably harder to spot. Teelana would have missed it entirely if Cobra hadn't said he would have set up two such posts; one to be discovered, and one to be overlooked.

The ambush came about where Cobra expected it. They were a little over one hundred meters in from the tree line when a group of men armed with laser rifles swarmed from the trees to surround the pair. They were quickly relieved of their weapons, though how they knew the crest mounted in Teelana's gauntlet was actually a magic staff, Cobra did not know.

Someone was well aware of a sorceress' capabilities, which meant whoever was calling the shots here had to have been warned.

Cobra and Teelana were matched a gunpoint deeper into the forest toward their ultimate destination. More concealed watch stands lines the approaches to the hidden village. No one was inclined to talk as they came within sight of fortified entrance to the village. If the outside was unremarkable, the inside was truly shocking.

The clearing inside measured hundreds of square yards housing several hundred men, women, and children. The homes were constructed from whatever they could scavenge. Smoke drifted lazily from crude chimneys, open cook fires roasted unknown types of beasts native to this hellish world. People paused the eye the armed men and their prisoners with weary eyes. Everyone seemed the recognized the one-eyed man by description, if by nothing else. The woman was more of an unknown, but her being in the company of a notorious bounty hunter did not bode well for her.

The prisoners were taken to a particularly rundown shack toward the back of the camp, the door was unlocked and pulled open, they were shoved inside, and the door was slammed closed and relocked.

Cobra and Teelana eyed their dingy surrounding with disdain. The makeshift prison did not concern them. The conditions these people were forced to live in were foremost on their minds. The various smells from the fires, weapons, and animals were almost overpowered by the smell of unwashed human bodies.

"I think I'm beginning to understand what the concentration camps during World War II might have been like," Cobra commented absently. Teelana lifted an inquiring eyebrow. "A dark chapter in Earth's history. One of many."

Teelana left it at that. There would be time enough later to discuss that. "I didn't recognize anyone out there."

"We could be in the wrong place," Cobra speculated, although the Brain had been most insistent that there was only one camp.

"Or they are hiding. After all, you are the bounty hunter who probably put a lot of them here," Teelana pointed out grimly.

"There's a cheery thought. So how long are they going to keep us waiting?"

The wait turned out to be shorter than expected.

"Last time I saw you, I told you never to cross paths with me again, bounty hunter," a gruff voice said from somewhere at the back of the room.

Because of the pale light given off by ineffectual electric lamps, neither of them noticed the door to another room at the other end of the building. A tall, blonde-haired man built like a body-builder steeped into the light. The bronze skin, reddish-brown fur briefs and fur-topped boots were a clue to the man's identity. The big clue for Cobra was the gray, four-point chest harness, and the faded red plus tapering outward at the edges emblazoned on the chest piece. This could only be one man.

He-man.

"Well, well. The man of the hour. Good to see you're still in one piece," Cobra said, conversationally.

"And I have told you things are not always what they appear to be," Teelana said, pointedly.

He-man's eyes darted from Cobra to Teelana and back. "You are either very brave to come out here, or very stupid."

Teelana stepped in before Cobra could potentially say the wrong thing. "We came here to find you."

"Do I know you?" He-man said, not recognizing Teelana at all.

"Think back to a time when you were asked to help stop Morgoth from returning to Eternia in a bid to conquer it. There were three people who stopped him. You, Strydor, and-"

"-the Sorceress. Yes, I remember," He-man finished for her. "So what? The Sorceress is dead."

"Remember the story she told you about her origin while you waited for Morgoth to show himself." Teelana could see he was struggling to remember despite his dislike to continue dealing with either of them. "Picture the image of the Sorceress as she was before she became the guardian of Castle Grayskull."

It took almost a minute, but He-man finally dredged up the image the Sorceress had shown him many years ago. This woman looked remarkably similar. Although the clothes were different, and this woman did not wear her hair in a ponytail, the resemblance was uncanny. And yet, He-man did not believe what his eyes and memory told him.

He-man shook his head, saying, "No. I don't believe you. The Sorceress is dead. There is no possible way you could be her."

There wasn't a whole lot more to be said at that point. Cobra and Teelana exchanged nervous looks. Cobra had a simple course of action in mind; beat some sense into He-man. Teelana, on the other, had no ideas until the guards were ordered back into the building to take the prisoners away. Neither one need an explanation as to what He-man meant.

Before a guard could lay a hand on Teelana, despite She-ra's protests to hear the people out, she blasted her way into She-ra's mind and showed her the truth. The Princess of Power reeled from the psychic assault as images and scenes filled her brain.

Cobra finally succeeded in goading He-man into doing something rash, which didn't take a whole lot of effort to begin with. He-man threw a punch aimed at the bounty hunter's head. The blow would have been lethal had it connected. The rocketing fist never got close as Cobra snapped up his right hand, and caught it as his arm transformed into the insectoid-like syngenor limb. He-man's fist impacted Cobra's transformed hand with a sharp _crack_ that echoed in the dim chamber.

Having completed the psychic transfer, both Teelana and She-ra whirled around at the impact of fist hitting palm. Teelana was not surprised by the site, knowing it was bound to happen sooner or later. She-ra, on the other hand, gaped at the sight.

"It's true," She-ra whispered, shocked and awed by the revelations of the past few moments. "What she said is all true."

Surprised, He-man turned his head to stare at his sister. "It can't be. It's a trick. She can make up whatever she wants you to see."

"I saw it as it happened, brother!" She-ra snapped. "I know what I saw was real and not a fabrication. These people are not who they appear to be."

He-man's trust in his sister was beyond doubt, and yet, he found it hard to believe her in this instance despite the ability this man calling himself Cobra exhibited. Finally, he dropped his fist and stepped back. "So if you are not the bounty hunter and his companion, who are you?" He turned to Teelana. "You claim to be the Sorceress, but what's his story?" He-man demanded, jerking a thumb at Cobra.

"That's…complicated. Is there somewhere else we can talk? Alone?" Teelana answered.

Brother and sister exchanged knowing looks before He-man jerked a wave toward the back of the room, and led the way.

Teelana hung back to have a quick talk with Cobra after the guards had left once more. "Try to be civil. They have been through a lot."

They had previously agreed that Cobra would play the arrogant, indifferent infiltrator who couldn't care less about whether or not He-man and She-ra actually _wanted_ to escape from Hel. Teelana would be that kind heart trying to talk them into leaving.

"Let me do all the talking. Oh, and one more thing. Without the Power Swords they are considerably weaker than normal."

"So?"

"So _don't_ say He-man hits like a girl," Teelana answered sternly. She walked away to join the twins in the other room.

"He _does_ hit like a girl," Cobra muttered to himself.

"Cobra!" Teelana called out commandingly.

"Coming, dear!" Cobra called back, lightly.

He-man and She-ra listened to everything Teelana had to say. The interruptions were minimal, usually only to elaborate on Earth terminology. Teelana told the tale of how she came to be on Earth, the reconstruction of the Starship _Eternia_, and the formation of the Guardian Force. Her audience was more surprised by the new role the Sorceress had had to take on than she was. The existence of the mystic power armor did confirm a few ancient myths dating back to a time just before the rise of the Evil Horde.

He-man demanded to know how and why a backwater planet such as Earth could have possibly been drawn into a losing war with the Horde. Teelana calmly pointed out the time when he, Teela, Duncan, and Gwildor landed on Earth after escaping from Skeletor using the Cosmic Key. It was Skeletor's subsequent visit to Earth that drew the Horde's attention to that rather sparse and unremarkable little corner of the galaxy.

Once the setup was complete, Teelana sketched out the somewhat improvised rescue mission. She explained what they planned to do, and how they were going to escape from the penal planet.

He-man couldn't help laughing at the totally ludicrous notion of escape. "All those years of living alone in Castle Grayskull has made you delusional. Escape from Hel? No one escapes from this place. _No one!_"

"No one has ever managed to break out of Hel regardless of how good their plan was," She-ra added.

"But has anyone ever broken _in_?" Cobra asked in all seriousness.

"T-t-that's crazy!" She-ra stammered, stunned. _Why would anyone want to break _into _a prison?_ she thought.

"That's why it'll work," Cobra said firmly. "No one would ever expect it. It's too inconceivable for the Horde to ever consider."

"Before it's too late," Teelana added, injecting a note of caution.

He-man blew out a disgusted sigh. "I don't know which of you is crazier."

Cobra and Teelana made brief eye contact. "We're sort of a double act."

Further arguing ensued between Teelana and He-man. Ironically, Teelana was the one losing her temper with her one-time friend after asking Cobra to behave. Whatever had happened during or after He-man's return from planet Primus, it had changed the man more than he let on.

Another ten minutes of fruitless fighting was all Cobra could stand. He loudly ordered the pair to shut up. Teelana nailed him with an indignant glare, which he ignored.

"I think we're done here," Cobra declared, taking Teelana's arm in a firm grip and dragging her to her feet. "We made our pitch to break them out, and they aren't interested. Leave them to rot, if that's what they want."

"Is your ship capable of supporting several hundred men, women, and children?" She-ra demanded. "We can't just leave these people wrongly exiled by Horde Prime."

"No," Cobra admitted. "But that's why we have a Plan B," he added quickly before anyone could object.

Cobra pulled Teelana out of the room and out of the building before she could make another attempt to change He-man's and She-ra's minds about the escape plan. They were twenty meters away from the building when Teelana finally managed to wrench her arm free.

"What was that all about?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

"It was about stopping you before you embarrassed yourself further. You wanted me to behave, but you came very close to uttering a few colorful metaphors. You are not going to convince them with words alone," Cobra explained.

Teelana's cheeks reddened noticeably at the mention of losing her temper. She hadn't intended to fight with He-man. She had hoped he would be receptive to their plan. What she found was more troubling than she was willing to admit. In her naivety, Teelana had assumed He-man and She-ra would be almost eager to escape from this place. Reality had a way of creeping up and slapping one in the face when it was least expected.

"Then get me a two-by-four. Somehow, we have to convince them to leave."

"I'd almost pay good credits to watch that, but let's be serious. Nothing is going to budge them. So we'll have to come up with something."

Several men rushed across the compound from the direction of the north gate. For a brief moment, Cobra thought the men were after him and Teelana, but they bypassed the pair, making bee line straight for He-man. He and She-ra had been trailing the pair until the four men sidetracked them.

Cobra couldn't hear very much of what was said, but he did clearly hear a name. Angella. The name meant nothing to him, be a quick glance at Teelana told him she knew it.

"One of the defenders of Etheria, Angella, was apparently out flying along the edges of the forest when she was captured by an unknown assailant," Teelana explained quietly.

"Flying?"

Teelana nodded. "She is a human woman with angel-like wings, hence her name."

_Well, that explains it,_ Cobra thought. "How do you know all this?"

"I see the images in their minds as they discuss the matter," Teelana said off-handedly. She sounded as though she did this sort of spying all the time. "Oh, and someone seems to have taken our ship. It was seen flying north toward where Cardas is believed to be hiding.

_Perfect,_ Cobra seethed.

"Hey!" Cobra shouted suddenly. When he had the attention of He-man, She-ra, and the two soldiers, he continued, "You want to get this Angella back? You talk to us."

Teelana turned a surprised look upon her companion, and wondered just what he was playing at now. He-man and She-ra shared an uncertain look.


	13. Ch 10

TEN

Moon Base Alpha

Earth Solar System

8 July 2017

General Hammond was the last one to arrive in the conference room even though he had the shortest distance to travel. He waited until his guests were all seated then got up from behind his desk, and walked from his office into the conference room. King Randor and his wife sat on the left along with Gabe and Nick. Queen Elmora sat closest to Hammond's seat on the right side while Skeletor sat as far away on the right as he could get without leaving the room.

From the outset yesterday, Hammond knew where the dividing line lay among the guests as far as support for his command went. The deposed Eternian rulers were ready to throw in their support along with King Carnivous, ruler of the Quadian people. Queen Elmora, while willing to see what Hammond had to offer, and was grudgingly impressed with what she had been shown, refused any kind of official support. And Skeletor? Well, no one really knew what he was going to do. Even Skeletor did not know what he wanted anymore.

"I want to thank you all once again for coming. I know the risk was great, but I hope the benefits will be worth it," General Hammond began, taking his seat.

"I hardly think the impressive wonders you have shown us negates the risks we are taking," Queen Elmore replied.

"Then why are you still here?" Queen Marlena demanded. "For the past several days you have been grousing over the risks of being seen in this part of the galaxy and what the Horde will do to Phantos in response, and yet, you came anyway."

"My motivations are none of your concern," Elmora shot back evenly.

"They are if they endanger my command," General Hammond interjected, "and the safety of my guests. That includes you, Queen Elmora."

Strangely enough, it was Skeletor who heading the argument off before it could threaten the entire meeting. "Your proposal mentioned a display of capability, General Hammond. Despite you technical inferiority compared to the Horde, you have met with a certain amount of success. I hope you intend to tell us what this display is, or do you intend for us to guess?"

"While it is true we are not as advanced as the Horde, I believe our, as you put it, inferiority can in fact be one of our strengths." Hammond paused to look at each person in turn seated at the table. "Our lack of superior technology is one reason why the Horde has not sent a superior invasion force."

"In other words, you haven't become a big enough nuisance to them," Queen Elmora elaborated. "Yet."

"True, but none of us need stand alone against the Horde. What is the one thing Horde Prime would fear the most?" Hammond said.

"Besides the Guardians? Who knows? I'm not even sure I believe the myths that the Guardians have the ability to destroy Horde Prime," Elmora admitted. In that one statement, she revealed a little of what she knew of the legends.

According to myth and legend, the Guardians had the power to destroy Horde Prime through a blending of science and sorcery. No one had the slightest idea how this was to be accomplished, or how to unlock the true power of the sentient armor. They had to unlock the secrets of the amazing battle armor as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the sentient battle machines were rather headstrong and gave up their secrets grudgingly, even to their operators.

"An allied front," Queen Marlena said, voicing what no one else was willing to admit. "Like a group getting together and standing up to a bully." That was directed at Skeletor, who ignored the jab.

Hammond nodded. "King Carnivous has pledged his support after saving his village from the forces of King Hiss."

"Winning Quaedian support is the easiest of all of Eternia's races," King Randor supplied.

"The Sorceress told us you once had a War Council formed from Eternia's races, and it worked quite well," Nick pointed out.

"Only for a time. Without the power of He-man ever-present the alliance of races quickly fell apart." Randor locked eyes with Hammond. "They will not be so easily swayed to form a second council. Not unless you can proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that an alliance with your Guardian Command is worth the risk."

Hammond considered the king's words carefully. The main purpose of this meeting was to reveal the current operation. The problem was it could be another day or two before they had a result. Keeping these people interested long enough to see if said mission succeeded or failed would be a challenge. Once they heard the shear outrageousness of the mission, the guests may just get up and leave on the spot.

Only one way to find out.

"We have an operation in progress that may fulfill that need," Hammond started cautiously. "Six days ago, two people left posing as a bounty hunter and his companion. Their mission was to infiltrate underworld circles, and make their way to the Horde penal planet Hel. Once there, the team would attempt to make contact with any surviving members of the Masters and She-ra's rebels. The team would then formulate a plan to escape from the penal planet in the event there were too many people to be safely transported in the bounty hunter's ship."

Everyone at the table with the exception of Hammond, Gabe, and Nick were stunned. Even Skeletor was at a rare loss for words. He was also the first one to find his voice.

"I take back my earlier opinion about you people being crazy," Skeletor said. "You are, in fact, insane. You said you would need allies to fight the Horde in a war the likes of which the galaxy has not seen in a thousand years. If your people _actually_ succeed, their actions will likely spark the all-out war you want allies to fight!"

"It's incredible. Unbelievable. You can't really hope to accomplish this, do you?" Queen Marlena said, struggling to keep her hopes in check.

"We have been granted access to the Val-kyrie sensor net and have been tracking the progress of the team. Yesterday, they landed on the penal planet to begin their search for survivors," General Hammond revealed.

"When do you expect to hear a response from your people?" Queen Elmora inquired politely.

Hammond hesitated, not wanting to reveal all the particulars of the mission all at once. "There are several scenarios that were considered based on possible conditions. However, if possible, they are to send out a sign that the Val-kyrie sensor net can detect," Nick explained.

"What sort of sign?" Elmora demanded.

"We'd rather not say at this time," Nick answered, braving the queen's penetrating stare. "But I will say that it will be hard to miss."

According to the various intelligence reports about the penal planet and the Horde garrison, which was sketchy at best, they knew the structure housing the troops and starship loading docks was immense. It was really larger than it had to be. Much of the facilities were usually buried underground thanks largely to insurgent attacks on Horde-controlled planets.

Elmora's intelligence network, as excellent as it was, could not dig up very much on the garrison. What her people had been able uncover was that the Horde base was built upon the remains of an ancient structure pre-dating the Horde Empire. No one knew who had inhabited the world before the Horde turned it into the quaint little penal colony that it was today. Rumor had it the ancient structure was the remains of a weather control station belonging to a race long vanished from the galaxy.

No. There was no way they could blow up the garrison. It was too heavily guarded and the power core would have been buried deep underground. Getting to the control mechanism would be virtually impossible.

Getting anyone willing to leave off the planet would be problematic enough. The bounty hunter's ship could not support very many people even on a short trip. There was a transport ship permanently attached to the garrison, but it was slow and equipped with only minimal armor, weapons, and shields. Escaping in that would be suicide because even a destroyer could easily catch up to it.

No more details were going to be revealed at the present time despite repeated attempts to pry more out of General Hammond and his staff. With the meeting currently at an impasse, the general called for a recess for several hours. They would meet again in the afternoon to resume the discussions.

Elmora did not hesitate. She left the briefing room and strode briskly through the maze of corridors in the direction of the hangar bay. The sentries guarding the personnel hatches had standing orders to allow Hammond's guests' access to their ship at any time day or night. The queen passed through the open airlock without stopping and made a bee line straight for the long-range starship.

The security hatch opened after she input the proper code. Once inside, Elmora closed the hatch behind her, locked it, and walked forward into the cockpit. She powered up the primary systems and ran a quick diagnostic to ensure the communications equipment was still in order. When the diagnostic showed all green lights, the queen opened a secure channel to the Intelligence Directorate on Phantos.

After a moment or two of waiting, the chiseled features of her Intelligence Director appeared on the screen.

"Your Highness," Director Dirgora said, surprised. "I wasn't expecting a call from you for another day, or so. Is something wrong?"

Elmora snorted. "Aside from the naive arrogance of these people, and the fact that their ignorance is going to ignite a galactic war, things are fine."

She filled Dirgora in on the details of the planned breakout from the penal planet Hel. His reaction was been much the same as hers; he thought the attempt was even more impossible than Elmora did. However, she needed to more information. For starters, she needed to know if there had been any recent changes in the bounty hunter circles.

There was a pause as Dirgora sifted through information on another computer screen. "Well, the Val-kyrie appear to have finally caught up to a particular nuisance they seemingly tolerated for far too long. The Battlestar _Logoss_ tracked down the Cobra and finally caught up to him." After a brief pause, Dirgora pressed on, "The official report states the bounty hunter's ship was captured, but the crew resisted capture and were somehow able to escape."

"How very convenient. You don't trust the accuracy of the report?" Elmora said, not entirely convinced herself.

"Not entirely. Cobra _was_ seen on the Planet Wayfarer. He and his companion blasted their way out of the Gravnine spaceport after meeting with the local crime lord, Boss Nash."

"Hmm," Elmora mused. "Nash is one of the almost respectable bosses. It must be something important for a man like Corbra to be meeting with Boss Nash. Can you shed some light on that?"

Dirgora allowed himself a slight grin. "I thought you would never ask. It appears that someone has been systematically taking the other crime organizations apart. Some of the events have been rather creative, if I do say so myself. There have been rumors as to who has been ordering the attacks on the bosses. Do you remember Boss Cardas?"

Elmora rolled her eyes. "Who doesn't? He was one of the most ruthless of the bosses. Sending him to Hel was one of few good things the Horde ever did."

"Well, it appears that his incarceration has not damaged his ability to run his organization, or so the Val-kyrie believe," Dirgora replied. "He's getting help, that's for certain. Boss Nash may have finally connected all the dots and came up with Cardas."

Elmora looked unconvinced. "In order for that to happen, someone at the Horde Garrison on Hel would have to be helping him."  
"Well, the planet _is_ deep in Horde space in a remote sector. No one in their right mind would try going there," Dirgora pointed out. "Cardas is, for all intents and purposes, is in the safest place in the universe. No one in their right mind would attempt to go there to take him out."

"I'm not so sure of that," Elmora mused.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Dirgora requested.

"Nothing," the queen said, shaking herself back to the present. "Good work. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything unusual."

"Such as?"

"If I knew, I would tell you. These Earth people are up to something, that I can be sure of, but they are not saying what it is, yet."

"You think we might discover it before they reveal what they are up to?"

"I doubt it. More likely you will figure it out at the same time I find out, but keep watching just the same."

"As you say. Anything else?" Dirgora asked.

Elmora shook her head, and the screen darkened as the secured communications link closed. The queen sat in the darkened shuttle for many minutes pondering what Dirgora had revealed. General Hammond's revelations were only a small part of what was really going on. She hated not telling Dirgora the truth, but she could not take the risk of being detected in this part of the galaxy.

These humans had to be getting support from somewhere else in order to make the rescue attempt. The presence of a Val-kyrie would indicate the likely source. However, even using the bounty hunter's ship, there was no way it could support more than a few people. Elmora activated the computer and called up all the known information on the Horde garrison. It didn't take long for her to discover a possibility, and the implications were enormous.

"It just might work," Elmora said to herself, awed in spite of herself. "Insane as your plan is, General Hammond, your people may just pull it off."

Approaching the Badlands

Penal Planet Hel

In the end, it was Teelana who pleaded an effective case for letting her and Cobra take on the mission to recover Angella. He-man was very much against the idea despite She-ra's assurances that Teelana and her companion were who they claimed to be.

Either way, Cobra and Teelana had to go into Cardas' domain in order to recover their starship. Cobra had a pretty good idea who the hijacker was.

Just as he had planned.

Time was starting to become a factor, however, because the longer they remained on the planet, the greater the chance of their cover being blown became. Someone in the Horde hierarchy would already be checking into the events on Wayfarer, so they had to move quickly.

She-ra surprised them by giving them a ground car. Cobra didn't ask how they acquired, and She-ra did not elaborate. The vehicle had definitely seen better days, but the engine proved to be sound. It looked more likely to blow up than start up, but that's the deception they wanted. Such vehicles were hard to come by on Hel; working ones were worth their weight in gold. Besides, Cobra and Teelana could not afford to be picky. If She-ra was offering to let them have it, that in itself was enough.

Of course, no one would be accompanying them. Teelana appeared to be surprised, but Cobra wasn't. He motioned for Teelana to get in, growled a thank you in She-ra's direction, and climbed in behind the driver's controls. Teelana made a bad joke about whether or not he could drive such a decrepit vehicle, to which Cobra responded by firing the engine, and roaring out of the encampment at break-neck speeds.

"You don't seem too surprised by what just occurred," Teelana said when they were well on their way.

"I'm not. Why are you?" Cobra asked pointedly.

"You actually expected them to be uncooperative?"

Sighing, Cobra reminded her of all they had been through over the past several years. Rotting away in the backwater of space on a planet no one could possibly escape from does quite a bit to destroy one's will to live in hope. Neither of them knew what had transpired during their incarceration on Hel, but the results were pretty obvious on the faces of all they had come in contact with in the village.

The journey continued in silence. Teelana had a lot to think about. When the Guardian Command had first been established, Teelana knew there would have been many changes in the galaxy since He-man's departure into the future. What no one counted on was a return five years after the departure point in time instead of returning only moments after.

He-man was a shadow of his former self. She-ra wasn't in much better shape even though she seemed more open to the possibility that the Sorceress survived. Teela being married to the ruler of the Snake Men was an especially hard blow to take.

Only her new friends enabled her to press on, to do what needed to be done. They were an unusual lot, to be sure. The man seated beside her was turning out to be among the strangest she had ever met.

Teelana broke off her reflecting when she spied a peculiar formation south of their position. She pointed it out to Cobra, who glanced periodically in the indicated direction. Teelana found a battered pair of electro-binoculars in a storage compartment, and raised them to her eyes. She zoomed in as much as possible, but they were too far away to make anything out other than it appeared to be a dust cloud.

"Probably just a dust storm," Cobra replied. "It happens a lot in desert environments."

Teelana studied the cloud a little more before returning the binoculars to the storage compartment. "I've never seen one like that. Looks more like the clouds your vehicles make on the desert plains around the base."

"Could be a raiding party," Cobra conceded. "There would be rival groups around fighting each other for survival."

"Let's hope they aren't going after anyone we know," Teelana agreed. She silently hoped they might be after Cardas, and that thought disturbed her a little bit. Maybe she was getting a little too involved in the character.

They arrived at the outskirts of a ruined major metropolitan city. The style of architecture was nearly impossible to identify; it appeared to Cobra's untrained eye to be a hodge-podge of several different races. That made sense given what Teelana had told him about the Ancients and their long dead civilization. The grandeur of the city must have been something to behold in its time. Now it was nothing more than decaying shells of buildings returning to the elements from which they came.

Finding Cardas' domain shouldn't be all that difficult. His was the dominant gang in this area. Anyone else looking to carve out a niche for themselves would either be forced to join with Cardas, or meet an untimely end. There was no middle ground.

They left the aircar hidden where they hoped to find it again later, if need be. Cobra figured the crazy, cannibalistic underground dwellers they ran into in the last city either kept a very low profile here, or had all been driven out by Cardas. Teelana suggested following the intact glow globes she spotted hidden in rather ingenious places. Someone had either constructed or repaired the network strung throughout the area.

"Bingo," Cobra muttered twenty minutes later.

The compound was not deep in the city like he had first thought. Instead, Cardas had built his little empire on the outskirts to the east. The site of what had once been an air/space port made an ideal site. Many of the buildings were too far gone to be of any use, but the reinforced structures on the northwest side of the field looked like they had been repaired and made habitable.

No one patrolled the grounds, but Cobra knew sentries were present. The pair found said sentries minutes later in outposts just as cleverly hidden as the glow globes. Teelana used a bit of magic to disguise their passing. They gambled that there was no sophisticated electronic surveillance devises, which could see through magical illusions most of the time, or so Teelana claimed.

It seemed almost too easy getting in close to the main compound. In one of the main hangars they found a very familiar shape. _Ladyhawke_ sat in the darkness pointed toward the closed hangar doors. Teelana wanted to inspect the ship, but Cobra held her back. Whoever flew the ship here, and Cobra was sure he knew who it had been, probably reset the security systems. Until they knew for sure, leaving the ship alone was the best bet.

Further exploration turned up a surprising find. Cobra had no idea what they were, but Teelana recognized the vehicles immediately. She hadn't seen one in many years, but the triangular design was unmistakable. There were eight vehicles – called tri-wings – in all. They looked like three triangles linked to a rectangular center point. These had been modified with external laser weapons mounted under the triangular side wings to compliment the one set in the sloped nose. The original version had the rider standing on the center section presumably using body language to steer the craft. These had been retrofitted with seats and flight controls.

The last time Teelana saw anything like these crafts had been one of the few trips outside Castle Grayskull. The first time had been just before the battle which came to be known as the Great Unrest. A warlord called Prahvus attacked the village of Pelleezeea where she had been enjoying the native hospitality. The Pelleezeans looked like sentient teddy bears averaging three feet in height. They were a peaceful people and thus ill-prepared to fight off Prahvus and his followers. Teelana defeated the warlord despite possessing diminished magic being so far away from the castle.

Cobra listened intently to her story out of courtesy, and because her knowledge about the craft could prove useful later when they would have to fight them off. He was sure that would happen if they were to take back the _Ladyhawke_.

Moving on, they discovered crates with Horde markings on them tucked away against the wall. Most were securely sealed, however, Teelana found one that had been recently opened, and remained so. Inside laid items which should not be found in the hands of inmates. Several laser rifles of Horde manufacture sat snug in their shipping slots. There were no power cells installed in them, but Cobra guessed those were in another crate.

Finding nothing more of interest in the hangar, the pair exited through a side entrance. They slipped from one shadow to another steadily making their way deeper into the compound. The sentries were as easy to slip past as one the outer perimeter. One would almost think they were expected. Teelana mentioned this, but it wasn't like they had any other choice.

There was increasing signs of life as they made their way closer to Cardas' central command structure. From the outside, it was heavily worn by the passage of time and too little attention to upkeep. Only the obvious and hidden sentries marked the building of some importance.

Teelana and Cobra spied the activity around the structure for almost thirty minutes before settling on the best way to get inside unseen. There seemed to be a blind spot in the coverage east of the building. Whether or not the gap was intentional did not matter. It was there and the opportunity to get in and out before being detected was also there. Working their way around to what turned out to be some sort of ancient loading dock, the pair discovered why there was an apparent gap in the defenses. The sentry post was recessed in the building, so anyone mistakenly thinking there was a blind spot, as Teelana and Cobra had, would have been caught with nowhere to run. Despite power being on in the building and those on the entire block, there did not appear to be an electronic surveillance. Cobra found it odd that the Horde would be secretly supplying Cardas with technology, but not supply even basic surveillance devises.

In any event, Teelana used a minor bit of magic to make the sentries see what she wanted them to see; an empty approach to the loading dock. When she was sure the spell was working, she nodded to her companion and struck off across the street to the dock. Cobra brought up the rear watching for other sentries or passersby. They made it to the personnel door without incident, picked the lock, and slipped inside.

The interior was marginally better than the exterior. At least some attempts had been made to make the scenery less depressing. They easily avoided the foot patrols without effort.

Cobra estimated several thousand could live in the building if the proper modifications were. Presently, the place was a ghost town and that had him a little worried.

He thought back to the dust cloud Teelana had spotted on the way in. Could it be Cardas took nearly his entire force on a mission elsewhere? If so, they could return at any moment. They had to be quick.

Teelana motioned for him to follow as she set off through a winding maze of corridors making her way closer to the center of the building. She was using her telepathic senses to find people within the structure and had apparently found someone familiar. They found crudely constructed cells close to the central area. Cobra suspected there were many more underground. He motioned Teelana toward a pair of double-doors opening into the building's central space.

The layout reminded Cobra of a wrestling ring with the spectators packed into the stands from floor to vaulted ceiling. At one time this place must have been a center for performing arts judging by the murals on the ceiling. Box seats lined the side from which they entered the chamber. Everything had the same rundown look as the rest of the desolate city. It really must have been a lively place in its time.

The roped-off ring in the center of the floor drew Cobra's attention while Teelana continued the search. Blood stains marred the cloth surface of the stage. The tiered ropes squaring off the ring had seen better days, but were still in good shape. He spotted a few dried blood stains here and there. The whole idea of the ring gave Cobra a bad taste in his mouth.

"Over here," Teelana called out. There was a discernable tremble in her voice.

Cobra wove his way through the fields of seats to the back of the chamber to the right of the box seats. He quickly found the cul-de-sac, Teelana, and a horrific sight.

Angella was lashed to a crossed wood planks braced up to form an X. Her wings had been stretched out and punctured with hooks to hold them open. Teelana swallowed nervously taking a tentative step toward the woman. Angella moaned softy, her blonde hair a disheveled mess. Her tight-fitting outfit was dirty, torn in places, and there were a few blood stains from numerous cuts.

Cobra drew his knife to cut her bonds while Teelana held her in place. The leather straps yielded easily to Cobra's razor-sharp blade. The tricky part was getting the hooks out without doing further damage. Teelana shushed the bird woman while Cobra gingerly tried to remove the hooks. When it didn't work being gentle, he was left with little choice but to roughly break the scabbed over wounds and yank the metal out. Angella cried out in pain muffled by Teelana pressing the woman's face into her left shoulder.

When she could see straight enough, Angella stared through oily strands of hair, and weakly asked, "W-who are you?"

"No time for introductions now," Teelana replied. "We're friends come to help."

"Time to go," Cobra said briskly. "They could be back at any moment."

Quickly, the trio retraced their route out of the building. No patrols were in encountered along the way, which worried Cobra more than ever. Something was definitely out of place here. At the doors leading out to the loading dock, they paused. Cobra cracked the door just enough to see if anyone was waiting outside. Teelana said she did not sense anyone close by and her spell on the outside sentries was still in place so they had to risk it. Pushing the door open further, Teelana slipped through carrying Angella with her. No one waited for them in the immediate area, but the short hairs on the back of Cobra's neck started to stand up.

The ambush came when they rounded the corner of the building heading north parallel to the sentry posts on the loading dock side. Cobra never knew anyone was around when he took a blow to the back of the head. Angella was torn away from Teelana and she was rapidly secured before she knew what was happening.

Brain and his girl strolled up with and entourage of heavily armed bodyguards flanking Cardas. Cardas was a powerfully built man with dark hair, angular features, and the look of a wolf.

"I-I'm sorry, Cardas. He had a gun on me. There was nothing I could do," Brain stammered.

"So you led him right to me," Cardas said slowly, looking the scene over with the cool precision a general examining a battlefield. "You are getting sloppy, Brain." Cardas shifted his gaze from the unconscious Cobra to Teelana. She wanted to shrivel up and hide from those cold brown eyes, but the man hold her arms pinned behind her twisted the limbs until she faced his boss. "And what have we here?" the crime lord cooed, looking Teelana up and down with an appraising eye. "How does one as fine as you wind up with a two-bit hood like him?" He gestured to Cobra.

"He's a much better employer than you," Teelana answered defiantly.

Cardas reached out to stroke her cheek, but a well-placed boot flung him backwards. Angered at the violation, Cardas stepped up and snapped Teelana's head aside with a backhanded blow to her left cheek.

His hand stopped short of reaching for her head again when she snarled, "Touch me again and I'll cripple you!"

"This one's got spirit! I'm going to enjoy breaking you in," Cardas said, smiling malevolently. With a jerk of his head, Teelana and Angella were dragged off to their new quarters inside. Cardas returned to the man sprawled on the ground. "And who do we have here?"

"His name's Cobra," Brain supplied.

"Cobra," Cardas said slowly. He waved for a pair of hired muscle to move in and take the bounty hunter away. "I heard of you. Heard you were dead. We'll have to do something about that."

110


	14. Ch 11

Eleven

Cardas' Domain

Badlands

Penal Planet Hel

Consciousness slowly returned to Cobra, who firmly thought he would wake up dead. His head throbbed from the blow he had sustained. As he lay on the rough folding cot, Cobra took stock of his situation. He was in one piece, throbbing head notwithstanding, which was the result of a mild concussion. Muted voices indicated several people were close by guarding him. Despite the ache, Cobra opened his good eye. The brightness in the room stabbed straight into his brain. Slowly, he attempted to sit up.

The three guards tensed immediately, weapons raised. "Don't move, Cobra," one of the lackeys warned.

"Too late," Cobra grumbled, swinging his legs over the edge of the cot.

Now that he was upright and taking stock of his surroundings, Cobra became aware of a large gathering of people close by. The sudden roar of approval clinched it. Cobra also thought he heard the sounds of metal striking metal. The crowd roared again. Whether it was for the victor or the demise of some enemy of Cardas, Cobra could not be certain.

An underling appeared in the concrete tunnel leading to the arena and sprinted toward Cobra and his keepers.

Gasping like and asthmatic hamster, the thug wheezed, "He wants you."

Any number of suitable cornball comebacks sprang to mind immediately, but Cobra held his tongue in check. It was a sure sign he had been spending way too time hanging around Jake Rockwell. Instead, he rose and followed the scrawny ragamuffin, guards in tow.

The arena was filled to capacity and then some. The Horde had been very busy exiling beings to this hell hole of a planet. There were species in the crowd Cobra had never even heard of jeering and cheering.

The crowd went berserk when Cobra was ushered along an empty isle and shoved through the roped off area into the ring. A few fresh blood stains had joined the old ones since yesterday. It was a clear indication of the brutal use of the ring. Cobra had his confirmation that he was to be the next sporting event in what was likely to be a fight to the death.

Cobra spotted a few familiar faces off to his right. The meaning of the convoy Teelana spotted yesterday became clear. Cardas attacked He-man's compound and had dragged everyone in it back here. He-man and She-ra looked on from a sea of frightened faces. He-man scowled at Cobra as if blaming him for all this. She-ra looked concerned about the ring of shock troopers – Cobra's shock troopers – guarding the group of prisoners. Off to the left, Angella was back on the X rig looking white as a ghost.

Teelana was pushed to the balcony rail so that she had a good vantage point to watch Cobra's death. Her wrists had been securely bound behind her back to prevent her using magic. Cardas did not know Teelana was not your average magic-user, and this one had a few tricks only a few had ever been able to master.

Cardas allowed the jeering to continue for a few moments more before pushing himself up out of his chair. He raised a hand and the crowd immediately quieted down.

"Time and again I have told you we are building something the other bosses would fear, and thus, try to destroy." Cardas pointed at Cobra. "There stands the truth. The bosses sent in their best man. And tomorrow when we storm the garrison, their best man will lead the way, from the neck up," Cardas paused for effect, finishing, "on the point of my tri-wing!"

The crowd erupted like a volcano blowing its top.

Cobra and Teelana suddenly understood what Cardas had been up to. All along he had been rebuilding his empire in the best place location in the galaxy. Hel offered him the cream of the crop, as it were, of the dregs of the galactic dark side. Cardas still had to be getting support from someone at the garrison, and Cobra suspected it was not Commander Xinder.

Brief eye contact was made between Cobra and Teelana, who nodded imperceptibly. That was all he needed to know. When the time was right, she would have his back from the high ground.

_Remember what I taught you and concentrate only on the moment,_ Teelana reminded Cobra telepathically. _The rest will tend to itself._

_Yes, dear,_ was his telepathic reply.

Cardas caught the eye contact though he had no idea of the significance, and was ignorant of the brief telepathic discussion. "Don't worry about your woman, Cobra. I'll take good care of her. After all, a beautiful woman is such a terrible thing to waste." That drew a generous round of laughter from the crowd. Teelana glared at the vile man, but wisely kept her mouth shut as Cardas returned her glare almost daring her to do or say something.

Something growled ominously behind Cobra. Cursing under his breath, he slowly turned around to face whatever it was he was to fight. He cursed loudly when he saw the monstrosity easily stepping over the rope border of the ring.

Cobra had no idea what the creature had originally been, but now it was an obscene amalgamation of flesh and machine. The massive forearms had been replaced with mechanical limbs dented and dulled from much use. Bits of flesh were gone on the thing's chest revealing the biomechanical replacements underneath. Some kind of cybernetic enhancements had been made to the creature's brain making it more controllable, at least, just enough to point it at an enemy and let it loose. The keepers still gave it a wide berth.

The crowd roared at the start of the fight. A spear was tossed in Cobra's direction; a useless weapon against that biomechanical monstrosity, if there ever was one. Still, Cobra had to put on a good show until Teelana was ready.

Howling with rage, the abomination lunged and took a swipe at Cobra with its massive right hand. Cobra dove into a shoulder roll away to the creature's left. The paw whizzed by overhead missing by inches. It was so close Cobra felt the breeze as it passed. He barely had time to recover as the monster rounded on him and tried to swat him again.

Teelana managed to keep her emotions in check, barely, and concentrated on using her magic to burn her way through the leather strip binding her wrists. No one paid much attention to her. With her wrists secured she couldn't use magic, so she was no threat. How little anyone knew. Still, watching Cobra dodging the creature for his very life tore at her. She itched to activate her armor and leap down there to the rescue. However, she knew the game was up at that point so she forced herself to wait until instinct told her the right moment had arrived.

The crowd roared when Cobra took a glancing blow stabbing the monster in the shoulder with the spear. The barbed tip got lodged in the flesh and was ripped from Cobra's hands when it reared back. He caught a glancing backhand from the beast which sent him hard into the rope barriers. Enraged more than in pain, the creature yanked the spear out of its shoulder, snapped it in half, and stalked after Cobra intent upon finishing him off. Cobra wouldn't last much longer at this rate unless he used his inherent abilities and the War Wing armor.

Teelana was almost through. _Just a little bit more_, she thought to herself, judging the weakness in the leather strip. When she judged it weak enough to snap with the slightest effort, Teelana sent the telepathic command Cobra had been waiting for.

_NOW!_

The instant Cobra stopped running the crowd mistakenly thought this would be the end of the notorious bounty hunter. Instead, he dove into another shoulder roll between the beast's legs to get behind it. What rose to its feet was not Cobra, but an abomination all his own. The Syngenor form, his favorite for situations like this, turned, snapped out twin bone claws from under the forearm carapace armor, and charged back under the monster the way he had come. Razor claws easily sliced through flesh and muscle hamstringing the creature. The transformed Cobra dodged easily aside as the bio-monster crashed to the ground with a genuine roar of pain.

Despite being crippled, the creature still levered itself up on one hand determined to at least take its opponent with it into death. Cobra seized the advantage, sprinting up to the creature instead of away, and slammed twin bone claws upward under the thing's chin up into its brainpan. Both combatants remained frozen for a moment and then Cobra yanked his bone claws out whirling away as the creature collapsed to the ground, quite dead.

A hush settled over the crowd. They had no idea what to make of the man who could transform himself into whatever he chose. Nor did they know how to react to the death of the bio-monster. That gave Cobra his opening.

Spotting a thug wearing his gun belts, Cobra sprinted toward the rope barrier, cleared it without breaking stride, and landed on the man like a ton of bricks. The people crowded around screamed and scattered. Reverting to his natural human form, Cobra took back his guns, and activated his combat armor.

Cardas knew the game was up now. "That's not the real Cobra."

"Now he has the epiphany," Teelana stated dryly.

Cardas turned a venomous stare on Teelana, who finally burned through her bonds with her magic, snapped her arms out from behind her, and flung up a magic shield about herself in the same instant the crime boss drew his laser pistol and fired uselessly at her. The ruby beam struck the shield and deflected harmlessly away. A magical impulse shove by Teelana sent Cardas and his lieutenants stumbling out of the box seats into the corridor.

"Kill her!" Cardas screamed over his shoulder to the pair of shocktroopers on guard.

The robots snapped to attention, turned, and pointed their rifles in her general direction. Something about their manner stayed Teelana's hand, however. The robots were not firing, and she could clearly see the deadly laser rifles were not pointed directly _at_ her. A boom mic and earpiece materialized in her right ear as Cobra's tactical net broadcast commenced.

"Cobra to Markson – _Scorpion!_"

Horde Battleship _Hoscar_

DeepSpace

The facial recognition program the Horde utilized was a sophisticated one boasting an error rate of less than one percent. Even with that kind of a record, errors did sometimes happen. Such was the case after more than a day of searching the extensive files in the _Hoscar_'s database. Sagan looked in on the program's progress from time to time while continuing to rebuild the White Knight battle suit. As with many things in life, the program beeped its completion at a time when the scientist was literally wedged up to his waist inside the armor in a rather undignified position.

Cursing, grumbling, and earning a few bruises along the way, Sagan managed to extract himself from the suit with a minimal amount of bloodshed. It was all for naught as General Rongar beat him to the computer console. Sagan had yet to figure out how the man always knew when something was ready, or Sagan had new information for him. He once thought his friend psychic, but it was more like a gut instinct that few were born with.

Rongar wisely kept a straight face as his friend grumbled and muttered about his bumps, bruises, and the general unfairness of the universe. It was an old story with the scientist, but Sagan was the best of the best.

"One match for the man calling himself the Cobra," Sagan replied.

Rongar nodded. "And two possible matches for this Teelana woman." He called up the match for the bounty hunter first, blinked in surprise, and jabbed the comm panel opening a channel to the bridge. "Connect me with the garrison commander on Hel, immediately!" Patience in times of urgency was not one of the general's strong suits. It seemed to take forever for the connection to be made instead of mere seconds.

Finally, the face of Commander Xinder appeared on an adjacent screen. "General Rongar. This is an unexpected surprise."

"Quickly. There isn't much time." Rongar punched several keys on the control panel. He sent the pictures from the search results to the garrison commander. "These two are on Hel right now, correct?"  
Xinder nodded, "Yes. Boss Nash hired them to take out Cardas, who seems to be operating his empire from here with help I have yet to identify. Why?"

"They are not who they claim to be. The man calling himself Cobra is in fact Adrian Cobretti. He's a human from Earth."

"Never heard of that planet. Is he one of these new warriors I have heard rumors about from a backwater part of the galaxy?"

"Yes. According to the computer, the woman is either Teela, which is strange, or a possible match for the Sorceress of Grayskull."

Xinder absorbed that while the general confirmed that Teela was in fact still on Eternia, which she was. Strange that the search program would pick those two, but Xinder's gut said it was the Sorceress. Something about the eyes told him so.

"Where are they now?" Rongar demanded urgently.

Xinder hesitated a moment before answering. "I believe they are in territory held by Cardas. I wouldn't hold out much hope of their surviving an encounter with him. No one comes back from there."

"Going after Cardas is just a convenient cover. One they didn't expect to be offered when Boss Nash intercepted them on Wayfarer," Rongar replied. "Did they go anywhere near He-man and his allies?"

That question caught Xinder by surprise. He had kept an eye on the bounty hunter as a precaution in the event some prisoner saw the ship as a means of escape, and took steps to take advantage of it. Paying a visit to the Horde's most important exiles hadn't even crossed his mind. "Hold on while I check the surveillance logs." He pulled up the requested information on another screen and quickly read it through. "Interesting. It appears Cobra's ship went into Cardas' domain, but he wasn't piloting it. A man known locally as The Brain and his girl left it."

"The Brain?"

"Yes. He's pretty smart. Smart enough to stay alive by not stirring the pot around here too much. He has been largely responsible for the technology being revived in parts of the ruined cities," Xinder explained.

"And smart enough to get around the security locks on Cobra's ship. No. It's too convenient. Taking down Cardas is a smoke screen, commander," Rongar said, thinking hard. Enough of the pieces were there to get a sense of the overall picture, but he was having trouble with a few of the pieces that just did not seem to belong in it. "Why would they go to talk to He-man and She-ra?"

"Maybe they thought He-man and She-ra might have some insights for fighting the Horde?" Xinder suggested. "She-ra did fight Hordak for a number of years. Even if her information is outdated it might still prove useful."

"Talk to them?" Rongar said, shaking his head. "I doubt Cobretti and the Sorceress went all the way there for _that_."

Both men came to the same startling conclusion at the same time. The implications were so outrageous Xinder scarcely dared to believe it while General Rongar was somewhat less surprised.

"No. Surely they couldn't hope to get away with it," Xinder hissed. "That's impossible."

"Where these people and their companions from Earth are concerned, commander, the word _impossible_ is found only in a dictionary for fools. You need to find them and stop them immediately," Rongar advised as strongly as he dared. The last thing he needed now was for the commander to totally disregard what was likely to happen at any moment.

That moment arrived quicker than either of them could have imagined.

Alarm klaxons blared suddenly in the background on Xinder's end of the connection. He quickly scanned his status board, uttered a strangled cry of disbelief, and issued orders to his meager defense force.

"What is happening, commander?" Rongar demanded tersely, cursing his bad timing.

Still unable to believe what has happening and what the implications were, Xinder answered, "Someone is _stealing_ our slave transport!"

Penal Planet Hel

Just before the _Ladyhawke_ had left the garrison the day before to go in search of Cardas, Teelana had noticed the starboard side personnel hatch open light was illuminated on her status board. She made note of it, but did not discuss it with Cobra. Something told her it was better off that way.

What had happened was a platoon of shocktroopers had exited the ship and purposely marched in formation around the bow of the massive slave transport ship docked in the hangar, and disappeared around the far side. Anyone watching would naturally assume they were the changing of the guard making the rounds to all the check points in the garrison. In reality they had bypassed the security locks on the transport's airlock and took refuge inside.

The platoon spread throughout the ship to ensure they could man all the required stations, and that there would be no stowaways when the time came. After they secured the transport, the hardest part began. For robots, waiting was never an issue. They did not suffer from fatigue, hunger or any of the other human frailties. Thus, the platoon of shocktroopers was ready when the special comm channel relayed through the _Ladyhawke_ opened and the prearranged code phrase was issued.

Adrian Cobretti's voice reached out to every shocktrooper in the two platoons carried to Hell on the bounty hunter's ship.

"Cobra to Markson – _Scorpion!_"

With those words, the troopers moved like a well-oiled machine powering up systems, warming up the meager weapons the transport was armed with, and fired up the main engines.

Alarms began to sound off throughout the base and the unauthorized launch of the slave transport commenced. The ship rose off its landing struts within minutes of Adrian's broadcast, and nosed its way out of the bay. Quick thinking maintenance personnel attempted to close the armored hangar doors, but the mechanisms moved entirely too slowly to be effective. The garrison did not have any batwing fighters assigned since no one in their right mind would bother attacking an outpost so deep in Horde-controlled space that was home to the worst scum of the universe. There were several unarmed recon aircraft assigned, but the troopers left behind by Cobretti made sure those would not be a bother.

At the moment of launch, the platoon leader on board the transport removed a small remote devise from its belt, extended a short antenna, flipped a switch to arm the transmitter, and thumped up the safety cover over the detonation button on the side. Without delay, the shocktrooper pressed the button, waited a moment, and then packed the remote trigger away.

Higher in the tower, the recon aircraft inexplicably exploded. Volatile fuel sprayed everywhere creating massive fires leading to secondary detonations. This crisis diverted attention away from the departing slave transport just as the plan called for.

Cardas' Domain

Teelana stared down the shocktroopers turning in her direction. Their laser rifles would not be able to penetrate her magic shield, but they could keep her occupied. The laser fire would drain her magical energies over time, not that she had any intention of allowing the machines that time.

"Cobra to Markson – _Scorpion!_"

With that call over the tactical net shared between Teelana's and Cobra's sentient battle armor, and overheard through receivers in the troopers, the pair facing Teelana did the most amazing thing. The pair snapped to, executed and about face, and set their sights on the fleeing crime lord and his minions. The robots traded laser fire with the retreating men. One trooper took a blast full in the chest, was knocked backward against the wall, and slid to the floor with an audible grunt.

_Robots don't grunt,_ she thought, growing more confused by the moment.

The second trooper paused to stare at its companion expectantly. The one on the floor growled, "Well, what do ya know? Gabe was actually right about this reflective armor."

The other robot replied, "It's called ablative armor, sarge."

"Don't make me hurt you, Jones," warned the first trooper, now apparently trying to pull its head off. Broken seals hissed as the helmet came away to reveal the ebony features Teelana knew well. "Don't just stand there, help me up," Sergeant Apone demanded.

Once back on his feet, Apone and the other trooper identified as Jones, sent more laser bolts down the corridor to keep the enemy at bay.

More laser fire punctuated by the distinctive staccato blasts from Cobra's auto-pistols drew Teelana's attention back to the arena.

"Go!" Apone commanded. "We'll keep this party going."

Still confused, Teelana returned to the balcony rail and gazed down at the developing battle below. Several troopers were engaged with Cardas' men while a pair freed Angella under covering fire from Cobretti. Without thinking, Teelana levitated herself up and over the rail, and glided to a gentle landing twenty feet from Cobra. Several stray laser bolts splashed against the magic shield she snapped back into place. She sent several ragamuffin ruffians tumbling with a wave of her hand.

Now clad in the form-fitting combat version of his armor, Cobra drove the enemy back as two troopers darted around debris to get a better angle of attack. The panicked crowds were most gone by now although a few strays still cowered out of sight among the seats. Occasional laser fire could be heard from elsewhere in the building, but none of it came close to the arena.

A hush broken only by an errant sob here and there fell over the arena. He-man and She-ra stood their ground between some of their people and the shocktroopers gathering in the chamber. The leader of the troop strode purposely up to the former Masters of the Universe, slung the laser rifle over one armored shoulder, and pulled off his helmet.

Colonel Jonothan Markson did not waste time on introductions. "Come with us if you want to live."

"You're not a robot," She-ra said, still trying to comprehend what was happening. She wasn't alone. Teelana was still waiting for Cobra to offer up and explanation.

"Well, that depends on whether you talk to my commanding officer or one of my ex-wives," the colonel said, off-handedly. Turning to the approaching Adrian Cobretti, he commented, "Well, not _exactly_ according to plan."

Removing his helmet, Cobra said, "Problems developed, ensued, were overcome."

"And you didn't feel I should be in on the ruse played out here by two platoons of our people?" Teelana said, clearly irritated at having been left out of certain planning sessions. Her body language backed up that assessment.

"Well, we weren't sure you could pull it off if you knew the truth about the shocktroopers," Colonel Markson answered.

"So what exactly are you trying not to say?" Teelana demanded.

"Let's face it," Cobra spoke up. "Magic-users suck at lying."

"And you are no exception, occasional poker games notwithstanding," the colonel added.

Sergeant Apone broke in over the tactical net. "We need some support out here. Southeast corner. We can't make a move for the hangar because of fire coming from the building to the east of it. Request fire support!"

"Let's argue about this later," Cobra suggested, donning his helmet and sprinting for the nearest exit.

"All right!" Colonel Markson shouted to the remaining troopers in the arena. "Let's move these people out! Ramirez! Make sure the others in the slave pens downstairs find their way to the hangar."

Private Ramirez saluted, picked three others to accompany him, and together the group took off for the lower levels.

******

Cobra followed the sounds of heavy laser fire to their source. He found Sergeant Apone and several others under cover around the corner of the building. Every time someone took a quick peek around the corner, laser fire blasted away a few more chunks of concrete-like material.

"Where are Jack and the others?" Cobra asked, using his armor's sensors to pinpoint the source of the laser fire.

"They were to safeguard the slave transport. They should be here shortly, but we have to take the hanger and the surrounding tarmac," Apone answered grimly.

More laser bolts slammed into the concrete wall flinging chunks out into the street. A few more like that and the bolts would be punching through. After triangulating the source of the enemy fire, Cobra motioned for his companions to give him room, and touched the silver six-pointed star on his armor chest.

Apone and his soldiers were well aware of the Guardian armor's ability to change its size and shape, so no one was surprised to see the armor transform in moment into its eight-foot battle mode.

Neutronium shield mounted to the left forearm and beam rifle clutched firmly in the right hand, Cobra stepped out into the open. There was a brief pause as the enemy shook off their shock at seeing the new threat and then resumed firing. All laser batteries were directed at Cobra, who set the personal shield to absorb and redirect the energy into the suit's power reserves and the capacitors of the beam rifle.

Cobra took out the snipers up on the corners of the hangar first with blasts powered down as far as the rifle was capable. The men never knew what hit them as the energy beams blew them and the concrete corners to bits. Cobra followed up with blast after blast taking out barricaded bandits individually and in groups.

Apone waved his people forward to secure the area outside the hangar. A scout slipped around the far corner to scope out the situation on the flight line side of the structure. Teelana, Colonel Markson, and the remaining soldiers not tasked with escorting Cardas' prisoners filed out of the other side of the arena. They approached the hanger from the other side in pairs covering each other all the way.

The scout returned from the far side of the building and made his report. "They are preparing those flying machines-"

"Tri-wings," Teelana supplied.

"-tri-wings for flight. I can't be exact about the number of people, but I saw more than twenty, maybe as many as thirty."

Colonel Markson nodded and sent the young man off to watch for activity coming their way. Teelana suggested she could take care of any tri-wings making a run at them while they secured the area and cleared the hangar of hostiles.

"How fast are those things?" Colonel Markson asked Teelana, checking the charging on his laser rifle.

"Fast," she answered. "Too fast for laser weapons, however, ballistic weapons may have a better chance."

"Unfortunately, we didn't pack any in the _Ladyhawke_'s cargo hold. This op was not supposed to be traced back to us until it was way too late for the Horde to do anything about it," Adrian said, armor compacted to the combat mode. He removed a large backpack from his back and opened it. "However, I figured this might come in handy." Inside the case lay a weapon not used in active service for several years. Cobra pulled the tactical version P90 from the padded interior along with several of the fifty-round magazines. He snapped one into place along the spin of the weapon and worked the bolt to chamber the first round. Returning the case to its place on his back, Cobra activated a touch pad on his left gauntlet.

Teelana looked over his shoulder to see he was activating the _Ladyhawke_'s override controls. She had thought she heard the sounds of a ship powering up minutes ago, but thought it had been Cardas with his small fleet of tri-wings. The status indicator showed the ship in flight not far away. At the touch of a button, the override kicked in and the ship veered off its programmed course and flew toward their present position.

Cobra looked up and met Teelana's inquiring stare. "Brain must be pissing his pants right now trying to figure out how he lost control," Cobra snickered.

The _Ladyhawke_ soared over the arena, hovered for a moment or two and then dropped to a smooth landing on the cracked pavement in the intersection. Apone sent a squad to secure the ship. It didn't take long to coax Brain and his girlfriend to exit the unresponsive ship and take them into custody.

"So you're just going to leave us here to die while you take only a select few away?" Brain snarled at Cobra, jerking his arms out of the grip of his escorts.

Cobra considered that for a moment and then answered, "No. But you won't be leaving in my ship, either. You either cooperate with us, in which case you'll leave with the rest, or you can watch us depart and blow the only chance you'll ever get at starting a new life out there."

"What do you want?"

"I want to know exactly what Cardas has in that hangar."

"You went through it on the way to the arena? Then you already know what he has," Brain said testily.

"Heavy weapons? Bombs? Grenades? Rocket-propelled grenades? Missiles?" Colonel Markson prodded. "Be more specific or the bus leaves without you."

"Tell them, Brain!" Lisel snapped angrily.

"Just laser pistols and rifles. Various scavenged vehicles, and, of course, the tri-wings," Brain sighed.

Teelana set off for the far side of the hangar with Apone and several others in tow to watch her back. When the tri-wings took off, there was little they could do to knock them down without taking the _Ladyhawke_ up. Adrian and Teelana could use their armor, but would tip their hand. Adrian's actions earlier had been dangerous enough as it was. Jack Rockwell would have been handy with his armor's twin gatling canons, but he and the others Guardians were with the platoon ensuring the smooth stealing of the slave transport.

They would have to do this with what they had.

Colonel Markson, Adrian Cobretti, and two privates gathered outside the heavy steel door that was the only entrance from the back of the hangar. The group already knew Cardas was inside accompanied by around thirty people, and all of them were heavily armed.

So were the Guardian Force commandos.

"Okay. After Cobra kicks the door in, I'll go right, James goes left, and Gustov watches our backs," Markson explained. "Thorsten and Grimes will take out anyone on the upper levels. Don't worry about the ground floor. Watch for ambushes from above."

Grimes spoke up hesitantly. "Um, could we flank Cobra instead?"

"Are you saying you two don't want to work the flanks with me or Gustov?" the colonel demanded, slightly miffed.

The young soldiers shared a knowing look and then answered in unison, "Yes."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you why," Apone injected over the tac net. "When you two are on the jazz, you're dangerous."

"The way he says it, it sounds like a bad thing," Thorsten groused.

"Only because we don't invite him," Cobretti added. "And how did I get elected to walk point?"

"You have the armor, and it can strengthen your transformed exterior, or so you keep telling me," Markson said.

"Hohiro warned you about flaunting your capabilities," Thorsten said in a conspiratorial whisper.

Making a sour face, Adrian checked the pistols over once more, transformed into his favorite creature form, and began pounding on the heavy wooden door.

120


	15. Ch 12

TWELVE

Cardas' Domain

Badlands

Penal Planet Hel

Cardas and his most loyal minions ran for their lives. He ordered the shocktroopers to kill Cobra's companion, but when the robots rounded on him, he knew the game was truly up; never mind that the man posing as the bounty hunter transformed into an abomination and deftly dispatched Cardas' biomechanical monster. Laser bolts chased him and his lieutenants down the corridors as they sprinted for the nearest exit.

_What had Cobra done to the robots to retain command of them?_ Cardas thought as he ran. _I will make Brain pay for missing whatever program Cobra used!_

The shocks of the past few minutes did not let up, however. Cardas arrived just in time to see a shocktrooper blasted off its feet by coordinated laser fire. It proceeded to get back up and resume firing, dropping two of Cardas' men in the process with well-aim laser bolts to the chest. The laser energy seemed to just bounce off the robot's armor. How was that possible?

There was no time to dwell on it as more troops showed up to end the cartel leader's reign once and for all.

Cardas made it to the street where he met up with more men amid the stream of screaming people fleeing the fighting still raging inside. Normally, Cardas would have just shot his way through, but wasting power cells on such a useless action was not an option, especially when the enemy was right on his heels.

When Cardas and his men finally reached the hangar, he immediately ordered everyone to arm heavily to defend the hangar. He and his other pilots checked out the tri-wings to ready them for flight. Laser bolts from the pistols and rifles may bounce off that shock trooper's armor, but one blast from a tri-wing's weapons could vaporize a robot. Cardas was dismayed to see only thirty-two men in the hangar. Thirty-two men might be a comfort to defeat the enemy bearing down on him, however, Cardas had no idea how many of the enemy there was to begin with. Those who were not already dead must have run away. He vowed to hunt them down and eliminate them later before launching his attack on the Horde garrison to steal the slave ship and escape this hell hole.

The sounds of powerful cannon followed by two distinct explosions snapped everyone's attention to the back of the hangar. Pieces of iron structure rained down in the corners as the sniper positions were obliterated along with parts of the hangar structure.

Cardas supposed the enemy must have captured the bounty hunter's ship and was now using it to take out his parameter defenses, not that they could hold out against a co-coordinated assault.

Crews began pushing the hangar doors open as the final flight checks on the tri-wings were completed. The energy cores were fully charged, the weapons were armed, and all that was lacking were the pilots.

A sudden silence fell outside as the meager resistance was swept aside. Cardas knew it was just a matter of time before the enemy fought their way inside, so he had to move quickly. Passing his laser rifle to a loyal follower, Cardas and his three pilots boarded their vehicles and powered them up.

An insistent pounding at the barricaded door in the back corner of the hangar drove everyone to find cover and train their weapons in that direction. The pounding grew in intensity. Each impact bowed the door inward and stressed the hinges beyond what they were meant to absorb. After half a dozen beatings, the hinges let go and the door collapsed inside with a loud ruckus.

The brackish-skinned creature some of the defenders glimpsed in the arena stepped boldly inside with a pistol clutched in each taloned fist. An ominous snarl escaped through razor teeth as the abomination swept its silver eyes around the hangar searching for targets. Those targets were spread throughout half the hangar containing the four tri-wing craft. Many used stacks of crates for cover while a few were climbing ladders to the walkways mounted on the back wall to shoot at the invaders from above.

Seeing the hesitation in his troops, Cardas shouted, "What are you waiting for? Kill it!"

The reaction was swift. Laser bolts lanced across the hanger stabbing straight for Adrian, but none struck home. He was continually amazed at his armor's capabilities. It could strengthen the syngenor carapace armor to incredible levels, or shrink itself to different sizes, or erect a power energy field to absorb and redirect the energy into its power core. The shield shimmered as multiple laser bolts continued to pound the shield as Colonel Markson moved his people into position. At a nod from him, the creature raised the auto pistols and snapped off three-round bursts.

One burst caught a mercenary in the head. Another man up on the catwalk took three rounds to the belly. He collapsed to the metal deck screaming in agony until one of the colonel's men put a laser bolt into him to end his suffering. Three more men fell to combined gun and laser fire before the remaining men sought cover from the deadly accurate enemy fire.

Ducking under cover behind a stack of crates, Adrian paused to reload both pistols, tucked them into the molded carapace holsters on his thighs, and pulled the P90 holstered at the small of his back, and nodded to the soldiers who took cover with him. They nodded back that they were ready to continue. Reverting to human form clad in power armor that would make Tony Stark drool with envy, Adrian led the way as the group darted out into the alley between the stacks and the hanger doors. A man broke cover to take a shot at him and took a short burst from the P90 full in the chest. Two more popped out and where blown into the afterlife by the troopers with him.

The soldier to Adrian's right took a laser bolt in the side. The impact slammed him to the ground, but he was otherwise unhurt. A storm of laser bolts and 5.7 millimeter rounds tore the enemy apart.

Five tri-wings prepared to depart. Cardas was the first one to blast out of the hangar. Three more followed close behind trailed by a storm of laser fire that was woefully inadequate to bring them down.

The last tri-wing was a little slow on liftoff and was caught in a storm of laser bolts and 5.7 millimeter rounds. Energy bolts tore into the wing vanes sending the vehicle into an uncontrolled slide while Adrian's bullets stitched the seat area and pilot like a pincushion. The craft crashed a quarter mile down the abandoned taxiway and exploded.

Colonel Markson and company attempted to bring down the remaining tri-wings, but they were too quick. Even trying to catch them in a cross fire between the colonel's group and Sergeant Apone's did not work. The craft were too agile for the slow cycle recharge and fire rate of the laser rifles, and Adrian's P90 had a maximum effective range of only two-hundred yards.

Teelana tried hard to remain in the present. She had battled this type of flying machines once before a long time ago before the Great Unrest. The warlord Prahvus and his soldiers attacked the peaceful village of Pelleezeea during her visit. They had used the same flying machines with the exception that the pilot stood up on the aft platform instead of the seats Cardas' men had installed. Regardless, the tri-wings were powerful, swift, and deadly in the hands of the right pilot.

She re-lived rising up into the air on the strength of her magic, demolished to tri-wings when they slammed into her magic shield, and stopped Prahvus' craft cold when he tried to ram her in midair. Teelana had dealt him a punishing defeat that day including disintegrating his power glove.

Laser fire snapped Teelana back to the present. The tri-wings were chewing up the ground with heavy laser fire trying to strafe Colonel Markson's people; her companions and friends. In an instant, Teelana knew what she had to do.

"Cover me," she told Apone, and strode boldly out into the open.

Before the grizzled Marine could argue, two tri-wings made another strafing run driving the men back. Teelana broke into a sprint up a small grassy hill just off the airfield and stopped to face the enemy. This open space would do nicely for her purposes.

"You see that?" Tobin said of the tactical channel to his wingman. "Looks like the witch wants to play."

"Let's teach her not to play with the big boys," Brin suggested.

Grinning, Tobin replied, "You read my mind.

They clearly had no idea whom they were dealing with, but they were about to find out the hard way. As the pair suddenly split off to attack Teelana from two angles, Cardas roared by locking his power laser on Teelana. At the tone of a solid target lock, Cardas pressed the triggers on the control yoke. Red bolts of destructive energy flashed across the distance slamming into the ground around Teelana. Apone and the others flinched and gasped as the fusillade exploded around her.

Cardas' two wingmen cheered as the woman disappeared in a cloud of fire and smoke. It turned out to be a premature celebration. When the smoke cleared, Teelana stood safe and sound under a dome of magic energy, white falcon staff clutched in her left hand. Frustrated, Cardas banked away to come around for another run. His wingmen were already lining up to come at her from two directions.

"What the hell does she think she's doing?" Colonel Markson snapped, watching the action from the corner of the hangar opposite Apone and his men.

"What she has to," Cobretti answered, staring off in another direction. There was one tri-wing missing from the fight, and he was trying to locate it.

Sensing the tri-wings bearing down on her, Teelana opened here eyes and dropped the shield dome. Her eyes had turned completely white from the magical power pouring through her. Her skirts started flapping from a gentle breeze as Teelana levitated herself into the sky.

Brin and Tobin could not believe their eyes. Not only had the witch survived the assault, she appeared to be going on the offensive. Well, if she wanted to come to them to commit suicide, who were they to complain about an easy kill? They realized their error too late to do anything about it.

Swinging the staff as if she were playing tennis, Teelana slammed a magic force wall into the tri-wing roaring at her from her right. Her wicked backhand destroyed the other tri-wing as completely as the first. Absently, not wanting any deaths on her hands, Teelana eased the enemy's fall to the ground. The landing didn't kill them, but the men hardly landed without a scratch. With that done, Teelana turned her attention to Cardas, who was lined up for another run at her.

One of Apone's men saw the fallen tri-wing pilots struggling to drag laser pistols from hip holsters to shoot at Teelana from below. It would have been a useless gesture since the woman was enclosed in a magic shield globe, but they didn't know that. Apone and his men didn't give them a chance to find out.

"Nail 'em!" Apone shouted. Laser bolts blasted the downed pilots into oblivion at the sergeant's command.

Cardas zeroed in on Teelana with the intent to kill her. Bolts from his tri-wing's laser cannon pounded away at her magic shield, but did no real damage. His last ditch act was to ram her magic shield. Cardas' hope was that the impact would be enough to penetrate the shield and get to her.

As the smoke cleared away, Teelana switched the staff back to her left hand and reached out with her right. The tri-wing came on at full speed; just under the speed of sound, in fact. At the last possible moment, something that defied the logic of everyone watching occurred. The tri-wing slowed to an abrupt halt. The tip of the craft's nose stopped just over an inch from Teelana's open palm.

Cardas gawked at Teelana in open astonishment. The power the woman possessed was incredible. With a wave of her staff, the buckles on his harness popped open and Cardas was lifted up out of his seat. The crime lord found himself flying sideways and landing hard on the pavement twenty feet away. Colonel Markson and his squad quickly moved in to secure the man. Two men grabbed Cardas' arms and held him fast.

"You have me, but soon the garrison will know what's happening," Cardas sneered.

"Oh, you mean the runner heading for the garrison right now?" Markson asked, gesturing to the west.

"He's not getting away," Adrian said. He tapped the medallion set into his breastplate and morphed the armor into battle mode.

Cardas had no end to the shocks this day. This was just one more in a series that would soon break his mind. The worst was yet to come, however. The runner was several miles away by now heading straight for the Horde base. Adrian locked onto the fleeing tri-wing with no difficulty while War Wing's targeting system compensated for the movement. The red brackets around the target flashed red as the computer made the calculations at light speed. In moments, the brackets turned a steady green with accompanying tone.

Adrian squeezed the trigger on the beam cannon sending a powerful, tight beam of coherent light downrange. Tense seconds passed as the rifle's energy cell depleted. A bright flash and a cloud of smoke was confirmation of a direct hit.

"So much for your wild card," Adrian replied, reverting to the form-fitting battle mode armor.

He-man and his sister had ventured through the hangar despite orders from Colonel Markson to stay put. They had not only witnessed Teelana's actions, but the startling transformation of Adrian's armor. The precision shot in particular seemed to irritate He-man.

Cardas paled when he realized his plans were now totally destroyed. "Do you really think this scares me? Hordak is more intimidating than you people."

Teelana had returned to the ground and strode almost leisurely across the tarmac toward the group. She had been impressed that Adrian's armor could target and hit a moving object at almost three miles away. It seemed there was nothing the suits could not do when their human operators attempted seemingly impossible feats. Feats like Teelana still holding the tri-wing solidly in place while its engines were still at full throttle. The red gem in the silverwork design of her top glowed angrily and the Falcon armor augmented Teelana's abilities. It wasn't anything like the Battle for Castle Grayskull, but it was more than enough to be impressive to non-believers.

"It isn't them you need to fear, Cardas," Teelana said, right hand held up and glowing with magic fire. "It's me you should be afraid of." She snapped her hand closed into a fist. In response, the magic field holding the tri-wing in place collapsed in on the vehicle in an instant. The hull imploded until the power core breeched and the tri-wing exploded in a spectacular fireball.

"Who are you people?" Cardas demanded nervously. "Disguising yourselves as shocktroopers was clever, but it won't get you off this rock.

"We're Satan spawn from the deepest depths of Hell. There is no place we can't get out of," Colonel Markson answered. "Now tell us who your secret helper is in the garrison."

"You can either tell us right now," Teelana threatened politely, "or I will rip it from your mind, right now."

Cardas tried to back away, but his captors held him in place. The man refused to comply, which was to be expected, so Teelana did her thing. She really despised this sort of thing despite the necessity from time to time. Getting lost in the mind of another was always a risk. Some minds were more pleasant to enter than others. Cardas was a vile criminal who had no moral inhibitions. Colonel Markson watched the man squirm as he tried to fight off Teelana's invasive mind probe. When the telepathic link was finally broken, Cardas slumped in exhaustion from the strain.

"Did you get it?" Sergeant Apone asked, still a bit awestruck by what he had seen earlier.

"I got it."

"Then let's go pay the little worm a visit," Adrian declared.

"Wait a minute!" He-man cut in. "Just how do you plan to take us away from here?" He waved in the general direction of the _Ladyhawke_ grounded on the other side of the hangar. "That ship can't take us all."

"All? How many are we talking about?" Colonel Markson asked innocently.

He-man stared at him as if he were crazy. "You didn't intend to just rescue me, my sister, and our allies, did you?"

The colonel adopted a serious posture. "What if we did?"

"Then I'd be really unhappy."

The sounds of ship in flight drew everyone's attention back to the hangar. It was coming from with the structure, but behind it. It was too loud to be the _Ladyhawke_ so it had to be something else. Minutes passed as the sound grew louder and deeper. Whatever the vehicle was that was coming toward them, it was big.

"Well, then it's a good thing we never planned to use the _Ladyhawke_ as our primary escape vehicle," Colonel Markson replied, smugly.

The slave transport appeared over the top of the hangar, hovered for a moment and then slid effortlessly, if shakily, toward the tarmac. Landing struts extended as the great ship dropped to a not-so-smooth landing on the field. The engines powered down as the port side personnel hatch opened with a hiss of breaking seals. More humans dressed in shocktrooper armor emerged from the transport armed with laser rifles.

A short oriental man, looking rather outrageous in his armor next to his taller companions, walked up to Colonel Markson and saluted.

"Mission accomplished, so far, colonel," Captain Hohiro Takamora reported.

Markson returned the salute, saying, "Good. Adrian will be bringing his ship around so you can cross load the supplies." As if it had been planned, the _Ladyhawke_ rose up over the hangar and flew around to land a short distance from the transport. "We have a lot of people to load and not much time to do it in, captain."

"We'll be loaded and ready to go in two hours, sir" Hohiro promised.

"Then get to it. Whomever you need, take them."

Adrian and Teelana stayed out of the way as Colonel Markson's troops worked to move as much of the supplies stored in the back of the _Ladyhawke_'s cargo hold as possible in the time allotted, and there was a lot to move. The mission planned banked on there being more the just He-man, She-ra and their allies to rescue so they planned accordingly. However, they could never have foreseen there being so many people. Teelana stopped counting at three hundred.

Cardas must have had quite a mercenary force to capture this many people without a fight. Of course, Horde weaponry had its advantages. Most cut and ran when the shooting started. Facing combat soldiers dressed in shocktrooper armor was not something they signed on for. Having no stomach for a real fight, they headed for hideaways all over the ruined city, and Colonel Markson was content to let them go.

Despite the victory, the challenges of moving all the people into the transport, and moving what supplies they could from the _Ladyhawke_ to the slave transport, Teelana was depressed. It wasn't because of the lack on inspiration on the Part of He-man, She-ra, and the rest. Considering what they had been through over the years, their attitudes were understandable. Still, something was bothering Teelana to distraction.

"What's wrong?" Adrian asked after pulling Teelana a short distance away.

The report of a single laser bolt striking something stopped her. Apparently, Cardas pulled a small hold-out pistol on one of the soldiers, and caught a laser bolt to the chest for his efforts. After the brief commotion subsided, and loading resumed Adrian returned his full attention to his companion.

"I can't let that library be destroyed," Teelana confessed, "but I can't figure out a way to save it all."

"We don't have the time to go searching for stuff to save. If it's a large as you say, it would take months to salvage it all. The way the environment is deteriorating I doubt we could get back here in time even if the Horde left us alone," Adrian said. Secretly, he had hoped there would be a way to save all the knowledge and technology Teelana said was stored in the ruined city. He had no doubt they could find a few things with which to fight the Horde armies.

"Let's the last storehouse of knowledge from the Ancients be destroyed makes me ill," Teelana said sadly.

Lisel had been wandering around aimlessly while Brain sulked near the transport's boarding hatch. Colonel Markson was purposely making him wait just to irritate the scrawny man. He fully intended to honor the promise of taking him away from this hellhole of a planet with everyone else, but Markson was not about to pass up a chance to mess with the man's mind.

"If you really are the Sorceress, then you should know all about the Ancients and what they could do," Lisel said, not convinced Teelana was really who she had claimed to be. "Their technology was unrivaled until the Horde came. Their knowledge is still unsurpassed even today."

"What exactly are you offering?" Cobra demanded. "You saying you have a way of saving that library?"

Lisel shook her head. "Not me. The garrison commander does, however."

Suddenly, it dawned on Teelana just was Lisel was talking about. The Ancients had been known for a great many God-like feats because their technology had been so advanced. They had cures to most every known disease and corrections for genetic defects spanning literally thousands of races. While a portion of those races were now extinct, their legacy lives on. But the most important advance the Ancients had was the ability to instantly transport themselves and things from one place to another using time/space portals so advanced it was likely the technology would not be rediscovered for another ten-thousand years.

"The garrison is in possession of a working teleporter?" Teelana said, struggling to keep her emotions in check.

"That particular warehouse is equipped with one. My guess is it was once used for commercial transport, though different buildings have been built over it now," Lisel explained. "Commander Xinder has the control devise that will activate the teleporter. It has enough energy to transport that library only once to any point in the galaxy."

Teelana looked imploringly to her companion. This was the miracle she needed. Cobra, however, had his doubts and it showed.

Jake Rockwell and the other Guardians, now dressed in the jumpsuits and patched designed specifically for them wandered over. All of them were armed with laser rifles in case any of Cardas' men found false courage to attack.

"Loading is nearly done," Jake said. "Colonel wants to know when you plan to head out to the garrison."

Once again, Teelana was annoyed at having been left out of certain portions of this operation. Okay, she was a lousy liar. Okay, she might not agree with some of the actions her new friends took, but they were at war, and war was ugly. This situation could be viewed as a lack of trust in her on their part, or it could simply be as Adrian had said a day ago that her reactions had to be natural. Whatever the case, it was clear Teelana had spent way too much time shut up in Castle Grayskull so acting naturally was a skill she needed to work on.

"I'm ready to send up the flare as long he gets that ship far away before hand. Once we send the flare, all hell is gonna break loose in this part of the galaxy," Adrian said evenly. "That transport is likely to have all the maneuverability of a garbage scow."

"Oh, da," Sonya confirmed. "It certainly does."

Teelana took a breath to say something, but Adrian cut her off. "You'll get your chance to confront Xinder and get that control devise. Just one. If it doesn't pan out, we leave. Once the chain reaction is started there will be one stopping it."

"What chain reaction? What are you talking about?" Teelana demanded. "What are you planning?"

Colonel Markson trotted over to collect the Guardians who would not be going to the Horde base. "We're ready when you are," he declared.

Adrian looked pointedly at Sonya, Brad, and Jeromy. "You three have the most important job. Make sure those people make it safely out of Horde space."

The three nodded soberly and struck off toward the transport.

"Does this mean I'm in?" Jake asked, hopeful.

"I suppose your Army skills will come in handy for a change," Adrian conceded.

The prospect of chaos and mayhem, however brief, in the garrison made the Army sergeant a very happy man.

Colonel Markson pulled Cobra aside to speak privately. Teelana got the hint and followed Jake inside the ship. "You sure you're okay with this? We're saving all we can," Markson said. This was the most serious Cobra had yet seen the man be.

Nodding, Adrian answered, "Yeah. I know we can't save everyone, and that garrison has got to go. It's the only way to send the signal they'll see back on the Alpha Base."

"The Sorceress didn't look too happy," the colonel observed.

"That's because I was under orders form General Hammond to help make her reactions seem as genuine as possible." Adrian glanced up at the cockpit windows. Although he couldn't see her, Adrian knew she was there watching. "I'll explain it all to her later starting with our 'flare'. You better get going. That scow only moves so fast."

Markson nodded. "We'll see you at the rendezvous. If you're late, we'll move on without you."

"If we're late, it's because we're dead," Adrian countered with a slight smile. "See ya when I see ya."

"Good hunting," the colonel returned, and strode off to the waiting transport.

Adrian entered the cockpit after ensuring the cargo bay doors were closed and secured for flight. He slid into the pilot's seat and rapidly went through the preflight checklist. Teelana had already done most of the work, but he didn't want to speak to her just yet. Jake sat in the auxiliary seat right behind the woman; unusually quiet. The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife.

Both ships lifted off simultaneously and soared off in different directions. With secrecy no longer necessary, Adrian punched the throttles up to maximum military power punching a hole in the sky at over mach three.

"Is there anything else I should know, or do I have to read your minds?" Teelana asked, eyes glued to her panel.

"We're going to the garrison to get the control devise for that teleporter Lisel spoke of. While you and Jake are doing that, I'll be in the atmosphere processor's main control room shutting down the cooling units for the station," Adrian explained.

"Wait a minute. She hardly needs a chaperone after what she did to those flying machines," Jake protested. "Besides, the atmosphere doohiccy is likely to be more heavily guarded than the base commander."

"Much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Jake. I can get to the commander quicker and quieter than the lead foot wonder back here," Teelana replied. Her stab a Jake was a clear sight she wasn't taking offense for being kept in the dark, at least, not at the moment.

"I resent that!"

Adrian sighed, "All right, if it gets this part over with any faster, I'll take Jake with me."

"Good. Now what is this 'flare' thing you keep talking about?"

"Thanks to Anyssa, we have limited access the the Val-kyrie sensor net spanning a good portion of the galaxy. Alpha Base has been monitoring our every move since we left. They are looking for a sign that we were successful in our mission here," Adrian answered her, unusually serious even for him. "So we have to send up a flare the sensor net can see. In this case, a thermonuclear explosion powerful enough to be seen at the edge of the solar system and beyond will fit the bill."

For all the times he acted like an ignorant basket case, and typifying the derisive things the other services generally said about the Army on a regular basis, Jake Rockwell really was quite bright. It didn't take him long to figure out where this was going, and had anyone glanced back at him, they would have seen he had turned several shades whiter as the reality of what Adrian was driving at sunk in.

Teelana, on the other hand, still did not grasp the meaning, not because she was stupid, but because she did not think in tactical terms. "And just how do we accomplish this?"

"I'm going to shut down the atmospheric processor's cooling system which will cause the fusion reactor powering it and the Horde base to go critical and explode. In short: we're going to blow up the base."

Had he looked, Adrian would have seen that Teelana had turned as white as Jake.

129


	16. Ch 13

Thirteen

Penal Planet Hel

Deep in Horde Space

9 July 2017

The trip back to the Horde garrison was a quiet one. Jake made himself busy in the cargo hold reloading magazines for Adrian's P-90. He also claimed to have a secret weapon to unpack for the occasion. He would only say that it was hidden the same way in which Adrian had hidden the P-90. That meant he had used a backpack on his armor suit the same as Adrian had done.

Teelana kept to herself for much of the trip. Adrian could tell the thought of blowing up the Horde base weighed heavily upon her. It didn't sit well with either Adrian or Jake, but there was no alternative. Adrian regretted that there would be innocent prisoners killed when the atmosphere processor blew, but they could not save everyone no matter how hard they tried.

_Some must be sacrificed if all are to be saved,_ Granamyr's voice whispered in Adrian's mind.

Jake returned to the cockpit and took the seat behind Teelana. "We're all set," Jake said a touch of uncertainty in his voice.

"What's bothering you?" Teelana asked flatly.

"Oh, nothing. We're just going to storm a Horde garrison, set the fusion reactor to overload, find your doohickey to save some musty old library, and probably have to fight it out with Horde troops every step of the way." Jake explained with a bit of rambling. "What is there to be remotely concerned about?"

"Oh, well, when you put things in that context this will be a piece of pie," Teelana said absently.

"Cake," Adrian corrected. "Piece of cake."

"You and your sayings," TeelaNa snorted. "No wonder the Horde thinks Earth is nothing to worry about."

"That'll change soon," Jake said. He sounded almost happy about the prospect.

"We'll burn that bridge at another time," Adrian said, pointing out the forward windows. "Looks like the garrison is have troubles of its own."

Adrian had seen the smoke a long way off and thought the volcanic fields north and west of the base was the source. Most of it did come from those fields; however, as the ship drew closer, they could identify significant damage to the base. Something had definitely happened since the breakout with the slave transport. Jake was at a loss to explain the expanded destruction. The charges planted to take out the scout planes and fighters did set off secondary detonations, but the resulting damage would not have been this significant.

"You guys pack something I didn't know about?" Adrian commented wryly, searching the billowing smoke clouds for the main hangar bay.

"No," Jake answered slowly, taking in the sight. "We didn't cause that kind of damage. Someone else is causing trouble."

"I think I know who is," Teelana replied.

"Care to let the rest of us mere mortals in on your little secret?" Jake requested.

"Not just yet."

"Ooo. Mysterious," Jake said, deadpan. "Trades barbs, plays poker, cracks jokes, and now she's playing secretive. We've been a bad influence on her."

Adrian growled over his shoulder, "You make it sound like a bad thing." He returned his attention to guiding the _Ladyhawke_ toward the garrison's main hangar.

"Only if you are on the receiving end," Teelana added. "There's the hangar bay. Damage looks extensive." She consulted the sensor board before reporting further. "Power fluctuations throughout the structure and the hangar doors appear to be jammed partially open. The gap appears sufficient to slip through. Fires are raging in many areas. We won't have a whole lot of time to spend in there."

Adrian nodded grimly. He edged the ship inside the hangar cautiously looking around for hanging obstructions that could tangle up the _Ladyhawke_. Small fires added to the smoke billowing out into the volcanic sky. Engine exhaust blew the oily smoke into chaotic patterns as Adrian spun the ship around for a straight shot out when the time came, and searched for a relatively clear place to set down.

Sounds of heavy objects crashing to the floor reached them over the roar of the engines. The hangar's acoustics allowed many ominous sounds to penetrate the ship's hull. An explosion somewhere in the complex shook the floor moments after Adrian touched down. The ship shifted suddenly and pitched to the left catching them all off guard. _Ladyhawke_ crashed to the deck settling at a slight ten-degree angle.

"Not one of your better landings," Jake commented dryly. He rubbed his left knee absently.

"This from the man who trashed the War Machine," Adrian shot back. He and Jack headed aft to the cargo hold to retrieve their weapons.

"That wasn't my fault!" Jake protested. "How was I to know Horde vehicles had such good targeting systems?"

"You're an Army-trained killer. You should have anticipated that," Adrian teased. He strapped a case of pouches to his left thigh containing spare magazines for the P90.

"Oh, that's original," Jake said picking up the pulse rifle he smuggled along the same way Adrian had brought his P90. "Considering your fear of heights, I'm surprised the Air Force kept you. I don't know how you manage to fly this bucket much less use your battle suit to its full potential."

"Keep it up Rockwell and you're gonna be walking home."

Teelana watched the unseemly from the cargo hold entrance. "Are you two about finished? We don't have a lot of time, but if you need a moment, I'll go on ahead and you can catch up."

"We'll argue about this later," Jake promised.

Without waiting for either of them, Teelana punched the controls to open the inner and outer airlock hatches and strode purposely out into the smoke-filled hangar. Jake and Adrian flanked her looking for targets. They reached the main entry doors without incident. At a nod from Jake, Adrian punched the controls to activate the doors.

There was a groan followed by an intense vibration in the deck plates before the doors grudgingly parted. They ground to a halt a little over a meter apart. Jake darted through followed closely by Adrian and Teelana.

The power grid was a mess. Lights flickered here. Sparks showered there. Acrid smoke drifted everywhere. Debris littered the corridors from all sorts of exploded panels. The bulk of the damage had been caused by a massive power surge. Water and other fowl-smelling fluids Adrian had no real desire to identify leaked from many ruptured pipes.

"This smells like the aftermath of chili night," Jake groused.

Adrian pointed to the intersection fifty yards up the corridor. "The lift will take Teelana up into the central tower. Jake, you and I will have a few staircases to go down before we get to a lift servicing the lower levels and the atmosphere processor," he explained.

At the intersection, Teelana tapped the call button for the lift. To her relief, it still functioned. She did not relish having to climb many flights of stairs to reach the command level.

Several powerful detonations deep within the base shook the entire structure. The trio stumbled from the sudden shacking, but no one lost their footing.

War Wing spontaneously formed a visor in front of Adrian's eyes. Displayed on that transparent face shield was the current status of the base, and the news wasn't good. The explosions caused more damage than he had first thought. What had appeared to be hours to terminal failure of the fusion reactor was now down to minutes.

"We're running out of time," Adrian said grimly. "Whoever set off the chain reaction destroying this base has done a good job. We only have about forty minutes before this base becomes a vapor cloud the size of Texas. Don't dawdle getting that control device. We'll meet back here in thirty minutes."

Jake started off down the side corridor, but Adrian stayed back to speak privately with Teelana.

"Be careful and watch your back. If you run into any trouble, contact us through Falcon. All six armor suits have some kind of personal connection to one another Gabe couldn't tap into. If there is trouble you can't handle on your own, give a shout, and we'll be there."

That the armor could communicate in such a way shocked Teelana. No one would ever have guessed they could talk to one another over a private comm channel like military aircraft, and yet, they did.

"Why am I always the last to know about these things?" Teelana groused.

"That's what you get for ditching Gabe's tech meetings," Adrian said with a grin.

Teelana rolled her eyes and stepped into the waiting lift. Adrian waited until she was on her way before rejoining Jake.

"All good?" Jake asked.

"All good. Let's go."

It didn't take long to locate the stairwell down into the depths of the base. Creeks and groans from the corroded metal structure followed the pair as they descended into the nether regions few Horde personnel had traveled. Rust streaked the walls amid patches of chipped and peeling paint. The handrails were also in the same shape as everything else that was metal. The occasional explosion caused them to pause and avoid falling debris. Every delay grew annoying each time as it put them that much further behind if they were going to be on time meeting up with Teelana.

A squad of troopers had just passed the access hatch to the stairwell when the pair emerged. The robots spun around in surprise and began firing at the intruding humans. Jake and Adrian ducked back into the stairwell. The robots paused when their targets disappeared. That was all Jake and Adrian needed to pop back out and rake the machines mercilessly with etherium slugs and explosive rounds.

More troopers appeared, drawn by the gunfire like moths to a flame. At each encounter, the robots were blasted into scrap. The warriors barely paused in their quest to reach the atmospheric processor's control room.

They reached their goal about ten minutes after parting company with Teelana. The last few troopers in their path fell quickly to the ballistic weapons. A quick check of the control room, corridors, and adjoining chambers revealed no new targets, at least for the moment.

Jake found the cooling system controls with Gatling Arm's help and examined the settings. "Looks like the Horde has had difficulties keeping this place from blowing," Jake reported, flipping a few switches. "Shutting the cooling units down won't be too terribly difficult even for me."

While Jake located the levers to manually shut down the coolant pumps, Adrian scanned the other consoles with his armor's sensors. There was a specific panel he needed to activate the self-destruct; unfortunately, the Val-kyrie had no idea as to the design. The processing station was Ancient technology, not Horde, so Adrian's task took a bit longer.

War Wing finally located the correct panel by scanning the power conduits throughout the room and followed a systematic isolation process to zero in on the target. A blinking outline on in Adrian's field of vision directed him to the panel. It was a little unnerving to have a heads up display projected right into the eyes instead of on the transparent face shield, but scientists on Earth had been working on just such a concept for years.

Although the characters stenciled on the panel were in an alien language, presumably Horde, Adrian had no trouble translating. No doubt it was a language stored in War Wing's memory. With that advantage, it didn't take long to program the self-destruct sequence. Pulling up the step-by-step instructions on one of the monitors helped.

When the destruct mechanism was activated, a female voice announced the activation and advised all personnel to evacuate to the minimum safe distance in whatever time remained. Well, it was all guesswork because the language spoken was one that was not in the memory engrams inherited from War Wing's former user, Kragor.

Jake had removed the four panels for the eight manual shut-off levers for the cooling pumps and was pulling the last one out. It rotated outward and locked in the horizontal position with an audible _click_, but not without some muscle power to force each of the levers into position. With that done, he retrieved his pulse rifle and joined Adrian at the entrance.

The pair took a last look around the chamber as if trying to burn the image into the memory as the computer continued to chant its warning litany.

Adrian nodded to Jake, saying, "Do it."

Jake braced the pulse rifle on his hip, flipped the selector switch to full auto, and squeezed the trigger. The rifle bucked in his hands, but Jake had practiced so much with the weapon it was easy for him to rake the muzzle back and forth. Explosive-tipped bullets blasted through metal, exploded conduits, and set fires in many of the consoles. The smell of charred circuits and burning plastic mingled with the acrid smoke rapidly filling the chamber. An eerie silence fell when the pulse rifle ran out of ammunition broken only by the spark and sputter of irreparably damage control panels.

Reloading, Jake said, "Now we're committed."

"Or should be for agreeing to this insane mission," Adrian growled. "C'mon."

Jake wasn't sure what part of the mission Adrian was referring to, and he was certain he didn't want to know. There was some sort of tension between Adrian and Teelana, that much was clear, and Jake was uncertain as to why it should be there. Whatever the cause, Jake took the wise course of staying out of it; unusual for him, but even Jake had a sense of self-preservation. After seeing what Teelana did to Cardas' tri-wing with her magic, Jake had come to the conclusion that one had to be suicidal to make her mad at them.

The pair retraced their steps back to the stairwell. They would have to go back up a few levels to the working lift and then take another stairwell back up to the hangar level. Hopefully, Teelana would be there waiting and they could put this nightmare place behind them.

When they reached the second stairwell they would have to use, Jake wanted to halt for a moment to take a breather. So far they had used around half the time remaining before the atmosphere processor and the Horde base sitting atop it exploded. They had plenty of time, in his opinion, to take a two-minute break. Though they exercised regularly to keep in shape, today's excursion was taking everything either man had, and then some.

"Time's up," Adrian declared after a few minutes.

Jake reluctantly agreed.

As they set out up the stairs at a pace about half of that coming down, a peculiar sensation washed over them. It was as if someone was calling out to them. Before War Wing or Gatling Arm could warn their counterparts, waves of pain struck them. Teelana's anguished cry pounded inside their skulls, and they nearly passed out. The experience lasted only a second or two, but it was enough. Teelana was in trouble.

And she was in excruciating pain.

Teelana exited the lift on the command level of the central tower minutes after parting company with Jake and Adrian. She had time to mull over the situation developing between her and Adrian. He really did not understand the significance of the Ancient library. It wasn't his fault, really, since his planet knew nothing of the Ancients and their accomplishments. The galaxy at large had lost much of the knowledge the Ancients had spread around in their day. Today, virtually no one remember them. That ignorance was causing friction where they could least afford it. Teelana's desire to save the library threatened to blind her to the larger issue.

She would have to make amends later by explaining the library's value, and what limited access to it could mean for Earth. First, she had to secure the prize otherwise she would have nothing to bargain with.

The lift slowed to a halt at the command level. Teelana braced herself for a sudden attack as the doors smoothly parted. The only thing to greet her was more of the same destruction she had seen on the lower levels. Strange that there were no troopers guarding the commander, after all, he would still have to be protected despite the base coming apart around him.

Four troopers did appear after she had only taken a few steps. Teelana threw up a magic shield to absorb the incoming laser fire. She snorted derisively at the futility of the attack.

"Oh, great. We would have to find the witch," one of the robots complained.

Teelana's eyes blazed. "I am _not_ a witch. I'm a _sorceress_!" She launched one magic sphere after another at each of the four robot troopers.

Lightning exploded around each trooper, instantly short-circuiting them. Teelana stepped past the robots, smoke leaking from every seam and orifice in their mechanical bodies.

Teelana left a trail of fried robots in her wake as she approached the command center. Like War Wing, Falcon projected a heads up display directly into her eyes, which was unsettling, but she was getting used to it. An argument was in progress and drifting noisily down the corridor as Teelana slid up along the wall to the open hatch of the commander center. From the sound of things, Commander Xinder and Borfic were engaged in a very heated argument.

"What's going on here?" the commander demanded. First there was the revelation with General Rongar that the bounty hunter and his companion were not who they appeared to be. Then there was the theft of the slave transport amid sabotage of the few fighters he possessed. And now all communication with the outside galaxy had been completely cut off. Through it all, Borfic seemed strangely unconcerned by the turn of events.

After the slave transport had departed under the command of parties unknown, more bombs had begun detonating at irregular intervals. Xinder could not believe the enemy had planted that many charges. The destruction of the fighters and recon scout Bat Meks was more in keeping with the stealing of the transport. The following destruction had to be part of some other plot against the base. By now the majority of the defenses had been utterly crippled.

Teelana knew from Jake where the first round of explosives had been placed. After ripping certain information from Cardas' mind, she knew the sequence of events since then. It was Cardas' men who were supposed to steal the transport. Colonel Markson's men must have intercepted them, probably when they entered the ship to steal it.

Borfic mistakenly believed that Cardas was responsible for the theft, and, thus, hoped the crime boss would soon return for his Horde ally and depart this hellhole for parts unknown. Borfic would keep up his façade until it was too late for Xinder to alter the outcome Borfic believed was coming.

"I can't believe this! First, an imposter walks in here posing as a bounty hunter and then someone steals the transport. Now we're under attack by an unknown force," Xinder shook his head and slammed a fist down on a control panel in frustration.

"There is no assault force," Borfic revealed smugly.

"What? What do you mean there's no assault force?"

"You are such a fool, Xinder," Borfic snapped, producing a laser pistol, and pointing it at his commander. "All this time the signs were there, but you couldn't see past your depression over your exile to this hellhole. I actually considered asking you to join us, but thought better of it."

Xinder finally put it together. "You were the collaborator I was looking for." He smiled suddenly and leaned back in his chair. "I can't say that I am surprised. I figured there was something a little off about you. But this? Well, you aren't smart enough to do all this on your own. So why didn't you ask me to join your little band of treasonous criminals? Afraid I would say 'no?'"

Borfic shook his head. "I was afraid you'd say 'yes.'" He moved to the other side of the holo-projector table to keep something between them. "It was surprisingly easy to aid Cardas. A small shipment of weapons here and a supply run of spare parts there; no trouble making the deliveries whenever needed. We started virtually from the day he arrived. Now we are going to leave and take back what the other crime bosses stole from Cardas. And then we we'll expand his empire across the galaxy."

Xinder shook his head sadly. "You still don't get it, do you? Never mind that this Cobra isn't the real bounty hunter. The fact that the Bosses hired him is proof positive that they figured out Cardas was still in business. His scheme to try to escape and take back his empire was a natural and easy deduction for the syndicates. They would never allow Cardas to continue running his brutal organization. Period."

"You should listen to him, Borfic. He has the clear picture," Teelana said from the doorway.

Borfic swung the laser pistol around, but Teelana had not been fool enough to stand out in the open.

"You'll need something more powerful than that, Borfic," Teelana advised, finally stepping into the open.

"He's not that bright, Sorceress. I presume that _is_ who you are?" Xinder asked.

Teelana nodded, using subtle means to raise a magic shield because she knew Borfic would soon take a shot at her. "How did you figure it out?" she inquired.

"I suspected you two were not what you appeared to be, but no one really cares in this place. We all have something to hide. General Rongar was the one who identified you by using a facial recognition program. He came up with your companion's name fairly quickly. There were, however, several possibilities for you," the commander explained.

Teelana's heart skipped a beat and she felt a brief stab of pain in her heart. If a facial recognition program confused her with Teela, and they did share similar facial features, then their secret would be exposed and neither of them would be safe anywhere in the galaxy.

"This is a rather aggressive move for you," Xinder continued. "I always thought you had a less benevolent side."

"Enough of this!" Borfic snapped. "When Cardas gets here she'll be nothing more than a tribute to Horde Prime as a payment to broker a non-aggression pact."

Teelana looked from Borfic to Xinder and back. "And you really believe Horde Prime would honor such a pact any longer then he has to?" She shook her head. "Sadly, Cardas will not be coming for the rest of his life. He chose to pick a fight with my friends, gambled on coming out on top, and lost."

"You killed him?" Borfic said, mystified that the Great and Benevolent Sorceress would actually take a life.

"Idiot," Xinder scowled. "_She_ didn't kill him. Her friends did. Didn't you hear a word she just said?" The commander began to laugh uncontrollably as he finally figured out the scope of the plan Teelana was following.

"Care to let the rest of us in on your little joke?" Borfic demanded.

"How else could she and her friends have executed their plan up to this point?" Xinder asked. "Two people against the all the robots and inmates here? Even they would need help."

Borfic scoffed, "Of course. That's why they brought all those shock troopers."

"Those weren't robots, Borfic," Teelana chastised. She was growing impatient with the delay. The clock was running, and Adrian and Jake would soon be finished with their task.

"What?"

"They were people – flesh and blood _people_ – inside that trooper armor," Xinder explained with a chuckle. "A truly inspired twist, don't you think?

"But…Cardas said he had taken control of all your troopers," Borfic said to Teelana. Clearly, the concept of humans disguised as robots was beyond his imagination.

"Time is short. This base will explode very soon and there is something you have, commander, that I want," Teelana said pointedly.

Both men knew what Teelana was referring to. Borfic had no intention of letting the Sorceress of Grayskull get her hands on the Ancient library when he meant to secure it for Cardas. As Teelana expected, Borfic aimed his pistol and snapped off several shots at her. The laser bolts splashed harmlessly against the magic shield. Xinder saw his opening and lunged at his traitorous second-in-command. Borfic fired one shot at his commander that stopped him cold before returning his attention to the Teelana. He gripped the knife handle hidden at the small of his back firmly and jerked it from the sheath.

Teelana had a magic globe ready to launch from her right hand while maintaining the shield with her left. She did not need the use of the falcon staff so she left the compacted weapon nestled in the gauntlet. She never got a chance to release the globe, however. A pointed shaft of metal sprouted from the back of her upraise left hand swiftly followed by intense pain. Her concentration snapped in a heartbeat. The globe and shield evaporated instantly.

Borfic darted around the holo-projector table to quickly subdue her. The pain set in as her right arm was twisted up behind her back. An agonizing scream not only escaped from her lips, but was also broadcast telepathically across the distance separating her from Jake and Adrian.

Jake and Adrian double-timed it up the many flights of steps to the functional lift that had brought them to the lower levels. The lift seemed to take forever as Teelana's pain continued to throb in their brains. It was not as intense as the initial spike, but it was centered on the left hand for some odd reason.

The lift servicing the command tower finally slowed to a halt at the requested level. Jake and Adrian braced for a sudden attack that never came. They moved out into the corridor darting rapidly from spot to spot covering one another. The pair made it to within twenty meters of the command and control chamber when Borfic backed out of the room.

Teelana, right arm twisted painfully up behind her back, was clutched in front of the man as a living shield. The pain in her eyes gripped Adrian's heart like a vise, especially when he spotted the knife lodged in Teelana's right hand.

"Keep back, Cobra, or whoever you really are," Borfic warned the laser pistol in his right hand aimed at Teelana's head. "I'm leaving this place in your ship and your girlfriend is my insurance policy."

"Over my dead body," Adrian growled.

"A condition I would be happy to bring about, if time wasn't so pressing," Borfic replied, starting to back away.

"Stick your head out," Jake invited, "and I'll cure all your ills."

"And risk hitting your friend? I don't think so," Borfic countered, dragging his shield back another few steps. He eyed Adrian intently.

"I'm not aiming at her," Adrian replied. He nodded ever so slightly.

Teelana nodded back and slammed her left elbow hard into Borfic's ribs. The man yelped more out of surprise than pain, but it gave Teelana an opening to wheel about and slash at his face with the point of the knife sticking out of the back of her left hand. The Horde traitor saw the flash of metal angling in toward his face, but was slow to get out of the way as his captive wrenched her right arm from his grasp.

Borfic tried to readjust to take a shot at her with the laser pistol in retaliation, but she dove to the floor leaving him wide open to Adrian and Jake. Adrian promptly put a round into Borfic's left shoulder. Instead of trying to stay and fight, Borfic wheeled about and took off down the corridor followed closely by a hail of bullets and explosive rounds. Remarkably, none of the came close to Borfic's retreating form. Adrian stopped to tend to Teelana while Jake sped off in pursuit to ensure the traitor didn't double back to the _Ladyhawke_.

Teelana was in terrible shape. The stress of the past twenty-four hours was catching up to her. Although the knife sealed the wound in her hand, it was obvious the pain was taking its toll. She fended off Adrian's attempts to remove the knife and yanked it out herself. She was so numb the action was relatively painless. Teelana was not a fool and knew the pain would return in due time.

Lacking anything else to use, Adrian ripped a strip of fabric off Teelana's skirt, which looked ragged by design, and bound the wound tightly to staunch the renewed flow of blood. He promised to clean it out and take better care of it once they were safely away on the ship.

"Wait," Teelana said, breaking away from Adrian after he helped to her feet. Instead of leaving the command chamber, she hurried back inside looking for something or someone. She found Commander Xinder slumped against a control console.

He stirred at Teelana's gentle touch. "You have to leave here. There are only a few minutes remaining," he said weakly.

Adrian had a sudden pang of conscience. "C'mon, commander. Let's get you out of here."

Xinder winced and cried out when moved. "I'm going somewhere, but not with you. Borfic took care of my travel arrangements." He dropped his hands away from the ugly belly wound from Borfic's shot. "I regret we met like this. In another life I think I could have called you friend." Xinder fixed his gaze on Teelana. "Are you the Sorceress? Really her?"

Teelana nodded. "Yes, I am. I would like to save the Ancient library, if you know of a way."

"The holo-table. There is a devise hidden underneath the table top," Xinder gasped.

Adrian found the control devise after a brief search. A stream of gunfire from Jake's pulse rifle drew his attention briefly to the doorway. He handed the item to Teelana as Jake appeared in the door. He nodded once and remained on guard. The meaning was clear; Borfic was history.

"That devise operates the last working transporter in existence on this planet. It can send that library anywhere in the galaxy. The beauty of that particular pad is there doesn't need to be a pad on the receiving end. All you need are the special coordinates," Xinder said, struggling with every breath. "Someone with star charts can program it. Or someone who is well versed in the art of creating time/space portals."

Jake kept glancing inside to see what was taking so long. He would occasionally hiss a warning that time was running out. Explosions were becoming more numerous and the structure was shaking more violently with each one.

Teelana closed her eyes and concentrated on the destination she had in mind. It was the only place she knew of that had a space large enough to accommodate the entire library. Normally, making a portal came easily and without thinking about it because it was just something she could do in or near Castle Grayskull. The coordinates came to her, but she had to concentrate on the numbers rather than simply open the portal to go there. A stream of numbers filled her mind as the destination became clear. Opening her eyes, Teelana activated the devise, followed the instructions to input the coordinates, and awaited the reply.

COORDINATES SET

TRANSPORTER POWERING UP

SYSTEM STATUS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL

SYSTEM READY TO TRANSPORT

PROCEED WITH TRANSPORT Y/N?

Teelana's finger hovered over the transmit button. Xinder reminded her that there was only on chance at this. Amazingly, he admitted to preferring her to hide the library than for Horde Prime to get his claws on it. Holding her breath, Teelana pressed the button. The wait was agonizing as the transporter went about its designed function. Then:

TRANSPORT COMPLETE.

TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL

The remote slipped from numbed fingers as the gravity of her success dawned on her. "It's done," she whispered.

"Now…go. Before it's too late," Xinder gasped. His head dropped back and his eyes focused on something only he could see.

"He's gone," Adrian said gently, taking her arm. "We have to go."

Teelana did not resist this time as Adrian led her away. They didn't get far down corridor when another explosion rocked the base. Structural beams and cover plates, and debris rained down blocking their path back to the lifts.

"Well, I hope your map shows another way to get back down the hangar," Jake said coughing from the smoke.

"C'mon," Adrian commanded, setting off the other direction. His armor briefly formed a gauntlet on his left arm. He opened popped open a small control panel, tapped out a series of commands, and then let the gauntlet disappear.

"Let's go," Adrian said, assisting Teelana. He draped her right arm across his shoulders and wrapped his left arm around her waist leaving him open to fire the P90 one-handed. It was not a very accurate way to fire an automatic weapon, but it would make the enemy take heed.

Explosions, falling debris, blazing fires, and hissing gases from broken pipes made navigating the corridors difficult and time consuming. Adrian led the way to one stairwell after another taking them higher up into the tower. Jake groused only once about why they weren't heading down. When he found the lower stairwell blocked by a flight of stairs broken off halfway down, he ceased complaining.

Despite the severe damage to the base, and the certain knowledge that its hours were numbered, troopers still came upon the trio and attempted to eliminate the intruders. Jake and Adrian returned fire at each attack. Teelana simply went where she was led while Adrian defended them. Most of the journey was a blur, but the one thing she remembered clearly was how accurate his return was despite shooting his weapon with only one hand.

Adrian brought them to a landing platform high up on the command tower nestled in among some of the higher spires of the base architecture. Bits of debris littered the area, but not enough to impede a ship landing. Unfortunately, there was no ship waiting for them.

"Well, this is good," Jake lamented, loosing a burst from his pulse rifle to keep the robot troopers at bay. "Look, I don't mean to be overly critical here, but we seem to be one ship short of an escape to fight another day."

"Wait for it," Adrian said grimly. Silently, he wondered if maybe he had miscalculated. He had planned for something like this, but plans often self-destructed upon initial contact with the enemy. This particular platform may not have been in the original base blueprints the Val-kyrie had provided. With the base blowing up around them, going somewhere else was no longer an option.

More troopers appeared at the open hatch. Jake and Adrian promptly emptied their magazines into them. They were now down to their final ammo magazines. If something miraculous didn't happen in the next few minutes, Adrian estimated they wouldn't need a rocket to reach orbit.

Backing up to the railing, Adrian wrapped his left arm firmly around Teelana's waist. "Hold on to me," he said never taking his eyes off the door.

Explosions in the other towers masked the sounds of more approaching troopers. Fires throughout the spires generated their own wind patterns making flying difficult. It would be impossible for Adrian's War Wing armor to fly through this. Hopefully, his backup plan would have better luck.

Jake's pulse rifle barked as troopers poked their domed heads out to see if anyone was still on the landing platform. Explosive rounds blew up one dome and drove the remaining robots back.

A new sound overpowered the detonations as Adrian resolved to try a desperate and foolhardy gamble. At first, he thought it was smoke inhalation messing with his mind. Then Jake shouted and pointed.

Like a metallic angel, the _Ladyhawke_ rose up from the flame and smoke-filled depths of the base. The port side outer and inner airlock hatches slide open and the ship slid up to the railing.

"GO!" Jake shouted. He squeezed off a burst toward the door to keep the troopers at bay.

Adrian pushed Teelana toward the waiting ship as the base entered into its final death throes. Jake and Adrian snapped off multiple bursts catching a few robots foolish enough to dive through the doorway onto the platform. Jake shouted for Adrian to get into the ship. When the P90's magazine emptied, Adrian had no more argument.

Adrian got a running start, hurtled the rail, and raced throw the airlock. Barely making the corner, he took the steps up to the cockpit two at a time. He burst through the hatch just as Teelana was strapping herself in. She winced in pain because her left hand refused to cooperate.

"Let's go, ground pounder!" Adrian shouted back down the corridor even though Jake would likely never hear him.

An explosion and blast wave somewhere directly below rocked the ship violently. _Ladyhawke_ lurched hard to port slamming into the wall while falling debris pelted the armored hull. Fortune favored Jake, however, as the ship came closer and lower to him. He dived through the open hatched only to be brought up short by a robot trooper. The machine dove in after Jake in a last desperate gamble to stop the invaders. Jake kicked at the robot precariously hanging on to his left ankle. It only took several blows to dislodge the intruder and send it tumbling out.

Instead of wasting precious seconds scrambling to his feet to get at the airlock controls, he simply slammed his right heel against the panel until he connected with the correct button. "Punch it, Cobra!" Jake shouted as the inner and outer hatches closed and sealed.

Adrian quickly regained control of the ship and slammed the throttles to the firewall. _Ladyhawke_ nosed down and leapt forward picking up speed at an astonishing rate. Adrian had to pilot at the top of his game to avoid the burning spires looping out of the billowing smoke clouds. Once clear, he pulled back on the control yoke fighting the engines thrusting the ship forward to point the nose toward the safety of the stars. It took over thirty agonizing seconds to align the ship. After that, all he could do was hang on a pray the engine power was all the Val-kyrie claimed.

Teelana slid her wounded hand across the center console. Adrian released his right hand from the control yoke, took her hand, and squeezed it reassuringly. She winced from the pain, but did not let go. Their eyes locked on one another moments before the forward and side view ports automatically darkened as the world outside suddenly turned blindingly bright. Moments after the flash from the atmosphere processor detonating, the shockwave slammed into the _Ladyhawke_. The buffeting lasted only a few seconds before the ship settled down and continued its run for open space.

Releasing Teelana's hand, Adrian leaned forward to scan all the status displays. He opened the internal comm system so Jake could hear his report. "It's okay. We're okay."

Teelana touched several controls on her navigation board and nodded to Adrian. A quick check of the coordinates, power levels, and hull integrity, and Adrian judged it was safe to engage the hyper drive engines. He pulled the appropriate levers forward of the throttles and ship dove through a wispy energy cloud into hyperspace.

139


	17. Ch 14

Fourteen

Alpha Moon Base

Sol System

10 July 2017

They had waited patiently for days while General Hammond and his staff tried to sell Queen Elmora and her companions on the absurd idea of an alliance. Elmora scoffed at the very notion that these people could offer anything to her and her allies. Apparently, the Val-kyrie Queen Mother thought differently on the advice of Anyssa. The Queen Mother was very vocal about taking the fight to the Horde, and she had a powerful fleet of _Battlestar_-class warships to do it with.

The Val-kyrie cared nothing for subtlety and stealth. Biding one's time was not a trait of the warrior women. They were valiant fighters the likes of which the galaxy had not seen in a long time. Despite the near constant attacks by the warrior women, however, Horde Prime considered them no more than a minor nuisance because they rarely traveled far from their borders.

Not everyone who chose to oppose the Horde had such vast resources. Many were wiped out effortlessly by even the smallest of the Horde fleets. Others hid in the shadows biding their time while undermining the Horde from within.

A careful balance had been achieved in the galaxy. Although the Horde continued to expand, there was no threat of a galaxy-wide war breaking out. These Earth people and their misguided belief that they must use their newfound technology to save the galaxy might well trigger the very war that will destroy it.

Today, Elmora had had enough. While the level of technology these people possessed was inferior to that of her armies, or that of the Val-kyrie, they did make up for it in courage and determination. However, flying around the galaxy in the starship _Eternia_ and starting conflicts with the legendary armor was a sure way to draw the Horde back to turn their backwater planet into a glowing cinder in space.

Queen Elmora, Skeletor, King Randor and his wife entered the central commander center with a purpose. Elmora scanned the sea of stations laid out in a tiered arrangement descending toward a large video panel spanning the entire forward wall. She searched for General Hammond, whom she knew to be spending a great deal of time here as the days had progressed. The queen's searching eyes finally located the man several rows down on the left.

"General Hammond," Elmora said in her best commanding voice, which easily carried above the din of conversations and the buzz of machinery. "We have endured your hospitality long enough. It is time for us to leave."

Hammond opened his mouth to protest, but a call on the intercom stopped him.

Staff Sergeant Barkley had the duty shift monitoring the target area through the Val-kyrie sensor net. While they had only a limited access to the system, it was more than enough to monitor the _Ladyhawke_'s progress to the penal planet. The task of monitoring the screens was boring and uneventful, so this particular duty went largely unnoticed.

That changed in a heartbeat on this day when Barkley's panels lit up like a Christmas tree. Without hesitation, he smacked the intercom override that cut off all other conversations. The function was by design so that General Hammond or the shift supervisor could be paged immediately if anything happened in the target area. Like now.

"General," Barkley said calmly over the intercom, working the controls at the same time. The steadiness in his voice masked the growing excitement in the pit of his stomach.

All conversation dried up in moments as the least noticed station in the room suddenly became the most important. Even Queen Elmora paused to see what was about to transpire.

General Hammond walked down the central stairs to the bottom row and across to Sergeant Barkley's station. Anyssa approached from the other direction. Gabe and Nick leaned on the top on the control from the other side.

"What is it, Sergeant?"

"Lots of activity firing up on the Horde secured communications frequencies. Rim ward units are being ordered to more with dispatch. Core ward units are being ordered to hold position and await further orders," Barkley explained. "Data on the target area is still sketchy. There is a lot of chaos there. The target system is a mess. One vessel is confirmed leaving the planet. Planet itself is chaotic from radioactive interference. There is a possible second starship seen leaving the planet ahead of a massive thermonuclear explosion on the surface in the approximate location of the Horde garrison. Data is still preliminary, but signs point to a _definite liftoff!_"

Word had been quietly spread that anyone on shift during the declaration of a positive liftoff would have a fifteen second window in which to celebrate before getting back to work.

"They're up," Gabe declared. He face lit up like a kid seeing all the presents under the tree on Christmas morning. "Great mother of God. _They're up!_"

The room erupted in cheers, whistles, and applause. As promised, General Hammond let it go on for about thirty seconds before raising his hands to get everyone to pipe down. The section supervisors took over telling their people to settle down and focus. The real mission was about to get underway.

"My dear Anyssa, it might be rather interesting if you were to inform the Val-kyrie High Command of our current progress," Gabe suggested lightly.

"My pleasure," the warrior woman said, beaming with delight. "With your permission, General Hammond?"

"By all means," Hammond replied. Then he turned to the communications officer behind him in the next row up. "Contact the _Eternia_. Tell Captain Majourny to open her sealed orders and proceed as instructed."

Queen Elmora's agitation was ratcheted up several notches by all the commotion. All she had intended was to serve notice to General Hammond and leave. Now, however, she was curious about what had just occurred in spite of her better judgment.

"I demand to know what is happening," Elmora demanded pointedly after finally catching the general's eye.

"History in the making. What's happening? What you deemed impossible," General Hammond replied, coolly. "But since you were leaving, it's a shame you won't see how things turn out." Hammond searched among his people until he found just what he was looking for; the lowest ranking person in the room to escort his guests out. "Airman Jones, would you please escort our guests to the hangar bay? Seems they have urgent business elsewhere and can not see the operation through to conclusion."

The airman nodded, "Of course, general." He turned to the queen and her party. "If you will follow me, please?"

"You are playing with fire, General Hammond," the queen warned. "Make sure you don't burn us all."

Queen Elmora stormed out followed closely by Skeletor and Airman Jones. King Randor and his wife lingered behind. They seemed to be taking in the emotion of the moment savoring the small victory these humans had just achieved. Locking eyes with General Hammond, King Randor nodded slightly before turning and leaving, holding his wife close.

It appeared that Queen Elmora's coalition had a few fractures, but the general had no time to dwell on the possibilities. He had a mission to complete and people to bring home alive.

Gabe wandered across the bottom floor to stand beside Nick. His eyes never left the large screen displaying a map of the local quadrant where the penal planet was located. Two steady blips now identified as the slave transport and the _Ladyhawke_ slowly crept away from the dying planet.

Gabe took Nick's proffered hand in a powerful grip and pumped it furiously. "They did it, Nick. _Damn_, if they didn't actually do it!"

Border of Val-kyrie Space

_Eternia_ drifted on the solar winds persistent in this sector of space. The winds weren't as strong as in other parts of the galaxy, but they were enough to warrant using the ship's attitude thrusters to keep from tumbling.

Captain Majourny didn't like waiting around almost as much as she hated not knowing what she was waiting for, or why. She knew there was a covert mission going on and that her crew had a part to play in it, but sealed orders from General Hammond prevented her from knowing until instructed. Only a coded signal from Guardian Command could unlock the orders in order for her to view them with her command code. Otherwise, any unauthorized attempts to open the file would result in its immediate deletion.

So for the past several days, the crew had been catching up on routine maintenance and running the occasional battle drill. Harley turned out to be quite sadistic when springing the no notice drills. Jo-jo made a mental note to keep an eye on his scheduling for future reference.

At the moment, Jo-jo was having a private dinner with Lieutenants McCloud and Denton in her quarters. It was a daily meeting to converse about the drills, repairs and upgrades, and shoot the breeze about anything of interest. Jo-jo found her attention drifting back to the oval view port time and again. The ship was parked on the edge of Val-kyrie space near a spectacular gas nebula. Near being a relative term since it take almost eleven hours at maximum hyperdrive speeds to get there. The nebula was pleasing to the eye and she longed to just go out and tool around and through it taking all sorts of scientific readings of it. It was a blending of pastel shades of sand streaked with white and a few puffy masses off to the right side.

For all the beauty, somewhere beyond that nebula lay the recognized border of Horde space. Somewhere out there was a ship with many of her friends and coworkers aboard. On some classified mission Jo-jo was sure she and her crew were strategically placed to support.

The trio was enjoying desert when the duty officer at the communications console on the bridge paged the captain.

Jo-jo touched a panel set in a corner of her desktop. "Captain Majourny. What is it, Tracy?"

Lieutenant Tracy Helgmon answered immediately. "Captain, I just received a priority signal from Guardian Command. Text only. You are directed to open your sealed orders and proceed as instructed."

Jo-jo's heart skipped a beat even as she calmly acknowledged the message. All the fretting, waiting, and wondering was about to be washed away to allow new frets and worries to take their place. Now, at last, she was about to find out what was going on.

"Thank you, Tracy. Have the duty shift stand by for further orders," Jo-jo replied, closing the channel.

The orders in question were located in the encrypted portion of the computer core. It didn't take long to retrieve the file. The computer demanded her command code before unlocking the file, which Jo-jo typed in. She had only to wait a few moments for the decryption process to complete.

Jo-jo began reading as soon as the words started scrawling down the monitor. As the enormity of the operation sunk in, Jo-jo's mouth dropped open in utter shock. She noticed her guests staring, got up from her chair, and invited them to read the orders in turn. They had the same reaction in addition to the deer-in-the-headlights bulging eyes.

"Ace, get us underway to those coordinates."

All thoughts of dessert were long forgotten as the helmsman left for the bridge. Lieutenant Denton was not far behind Ace. He needed to see to the ship's security, and to make sure Beta and Delta platoons were briefed so they could defend the ship in the event of a boarding action.

Now all Jo-jo had to do was frame her thoughts on how she would break the news to her crew. The mission was so unthinkable she was sure the Horde would be having a hard time digesting the events as much as she was.

Outside the captain's view port the nebula shifted lazily at first, then wheeled about as Ace personally took over flying the ship and made the jump to hyperspace.

Horde Battleship _Hoscar_

Penal Planet Hel

Stationary Orbit

General Rongar stared with dismay at the sensor display of the planetary conditions and the status of the Horde base. The conditions were deplorable and getting worse by the hour. The entire planet would completely unlivable within a few years.

The Horde base, however, was another matter. It, and the sole surviving Ancient atmosphere processor it had been build upon, were gone. Just gone. The thermonuclear explosion had erased all trace of the structure and a sizeable chunk of the landscape. In its place was a crater five miles wide and over a mile deep.

Captain Dragnor brought even more bad news. "We can't track the slave ship with any degree of accuracy, I'm afraid."

"Why not?" the general demanded irritably.

"The amounts of radiation thrown off into space by the explosion masked the trail of both ships," the captain explained. "It took so long in getting here that the radiation had time to saturate the local space and mask the trail. We have conducted scans of the system looking for the exit point, but there is a lot of area to cover. We will find the point at which they left the system, and once the repairs are complete to our engines, we can easily overtake them."

"Ships? There were two leaving the planet?" Rongar had assumed the raiders would all leave on the same ship. The transport did have a docking bay big enough to accommodate six vessels the size of the bounty hunter's ship.

"Yes. The bounty hunter's ship's environmental system would not have the endurance to handle a large group of passengers. The slave transport would have been the obvious choice from the beginning," Captain Dragnor said. "And I doubt He-man and She-ra would have left any allies behind."

"Indeed," Rongar agreed. "But why leave the bounty hunter's ship behind? It would have been upgraded and its weapons were rumored to be able to take on one of our frigates and win. The environmental system could have been modified for transporting a large force of humans on a one-way journey. We have done it on rare occasions where robots would prove to be too unreliable."

"The ships would not have left together," Captain Dragnor argued. "The transport would not have the speed to outrun the blast wave. I believe the destruction of the base was a means to an end."

Puzzled, Rongar asked, "How so?"

"Well, these humans have shown quite a degree of resourcefulness. The transport was spotted leaving a full hour before the base exploded. There are indications that a second ship was riding the shockwave from the detonation. Size and configuration points to the bounty hunter ship," Dragnor explained. "Most likely they are a rear guard for the transport. If we can just determine the egress point from the solar system, we may be able to cut them off before they reach whatever safety they are running to."

General Rongar stared at the regional chart displayed on a data pad in his hands. "I may be able to help with that. Give me some time to study these charts and I may come up with a heading for you."

"How?"

"By thinking from their point of view using what we suspect," Rongar answered.

The enemy was getting further away with each passing moment, however, when the engines were repaired, the _Hoscar_ was more than capable of catching up to the fleeing ships. It was only a matter of time.

Starship _Ladyhawke_

Deep Space

Teelana released her death grip on Adrian's hand and winced as the knife wound tore open again. It needed to be properly cleaned a dressed.

"Let's get that fixed before you bleed all over my ship," Adrian said, unbuckling the safety belts and standing up.

"_Our_ ship," she corrected.

Jake finally made his way up to the cockpit after the wild ride on the explosion's shockwave. "Did I have something in my eye, or did I actually see some hand holding action going on?"

"Jake," Adrian said warningly.

"If you two need some alone time-"

"Jake," Teelana warned evenly.

"-I just take a few laps around the cargo hold in that outer corridor."

"_JAKE!_" Adrian and Teelana barked in unison.

"Okay, okay, I'll stay. You don't have to beg me." He plopped down in one of the rear seats as Adrian and Teelana moved past him.

Teelana swooned a bit when she entered the cargo hold. Adrian made her lay down on a couple of crates he pushed together to make an improvised bench. Then she complained that the room was starting to spin, so Adrian told her to put a foot on the deck. Doubtful of the tactic she did as he directed and her dizziness soon went away.

"I've had my share of drunken binges," Adrian replied when Teelana reported that her dizziness was gone.

"I'm not drunk," she said, wincing as he peeled off the bloody bandages.

"You might as well be from the blood loss. Now hold still."

Teelana glanced at the wound and decided she didn't want to watch what he was about to do, so she through her right arm across her eyes. "Is this going to hurt?"

"It's gonna sting a little. Just don't pull your hand away or you might tear the wound open even more," Adrian advised. "Ready?"

"Just do it."

Teelana soon regretted that statement. Whatever Adrian used to clean out the wound burned almost immediately when applied. A lot worse then he said it would. Teelana bit her lower lip to stifle a scream, but could not help moaning. Reflexively, she tried to pull her hand back, but Adrian had a firm grip on her wrist. The pain finally subsided with one last stab of pain. Sweating profusely, Teelana removed her arm and glared at Adrian.

"That was more than a little sting, Adrian," Teelana growled. She never used his first name unless she was serious, or mad.

"Okay, so I underestimated things a bit."

"You think?" Teelana collapsed back onto the crate while Adrian continued to dress the wound. "Felt like I have that knife jammed in there again."

"That could be arranged," Adrian joked. At her icy glare, he said quickly, "Look, you might have had a brewing infection and I had to be sure it was cleaned out."

"My healing magic would have made sure it was clean before repairing the damage," Teelana said confidently. "However, it would require sleeping for more then twelve hours while the spell worked."

"Well, this gives you a head start."

Jake entered the hold and began searching among the remaining crates for something.

"What's on the menu today, Jake?" Adrian asked, knowing what he was after.

"Oh, just some heated MREs. I'm thinking of mixing a few together. See how that turns out," Jake answered, locating the crate he wanted. "Did you know there is a common area up behind the cockpit?"

"Really? I thought there was a quad mount there," Adrian admitted. "Never really looked in there."

"You mean to tell me the two of you have had the run of the ship these past few days and you never looked in all the spaces?" Jake shook his head. "Sad. Really sad."

Jake left with his arms full of meal packages and headed for the common room which was equipped with a cooking unit.

"MREs?" Teelana inquired.

"Meals Ready to Eat. They really aren't too bad," Adrian answered.

"I'm not sure I want to believe you after your claims about cleaning my wound," Teelana said, a ghost of smile on her lips.

"You'll get over it,"

"Not if Jake is doing the cooking," Teelana objected.

"Oh, come on," Adrian protested, gesturing for her to leave the cargo hold first. "Jake hasn't poisoned anyone…recently."

The common room turned out to be more than they could have hoped for. A curved couch with a round table filled the center of the room. Appliances for cooking, cleaning, monitors and a few storage cabinets filled the areas along the walls. Jake made himself busy preparing the meal, such that is was. He sternly told Teelana and Adrian to sit and wait. There wasn't much conversation. Even the notoriously gabby Jake Rockwell was unusually quiet. The magnitude of what they had accomplished was finally starting to sink in.

The Horde would not just sit idly by while the Masters of the Universe were spirited away to safety. Safety would ultimately lead to their renewing their fight for the freedom of all the subjugated races of the Horde Empire. That just would not do. Once the Horde figured out where the ships were heading, all available assets would be committed to hunting them down and destroying them. No more penal planets for them.

Jake served up a pretty decent meal. A little seasoning – he refused to explain how seasonings made it into the packing crates – and it was very passable. Teelana was impressed. They made short work of the meal, eating as if they had been starving. Then it was time to get some sleep. Teelana was practically asleep in her seat.

Jake returned to the cockpit to marvel at the kaleidoscope of color as the ship hurtled through hyperspace while Adrian saw to Teelana.

Adrian guided her into her cabin and sat her on the edge of the bed. Teelana removed the gauntlet and armband. Adrian set the items aside on the small night stand then took her ankles and swung them up on the bed. He tried to keep his mind on the task of pulling off her boots; however, he kept admiring her beauty. Not in a lecherous sort of way, either. He slipped the boots off, set them aside, and unfolded one of the fur blankets. He considered seeing if Teelana had ticklish feet, but tossed the idea away; this wasn't the time for frivolous antics. After tucking the end of the blanket under her feet, Adrian straightened her shirts, and covered her up to her chin.

"Yes," Teelana said softly, "my legs do go all the way up, as if my other costume didn't make that apparent."

"I know," Adrian replied, unfolding the other blanket. "That isn't what I was thinking."

"Oh? You were admiring me for quite a while. Not sure why, since you have had the past several days to look and admire." She said that so matter-of-factly that it was disturbing, especially since she did not appear upset by it.

Spreading the second blanket out over her, Adrian admitted, "I was debating whether or not to find out if you had ticklish feet."

"Indeed. I don't know if I am ticklish anywhere much less on my feet. Might have to investigate that at a later time." Teelana turned over on to her left side as Adrian settled the second blanket at her shoulder.

Noticing she was practically sound asleep, Adrian tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and leaned in close. He planted a brief kiss on her temple saying, "You did good, Sorceress."

Before he could straighten, Teelana turned her head and planted a kiss full on his lips, saying, "So did you." She turned away and pulled the blankets up around her face to hide the smile she could not control.

Seeing there was nothing more to be gained for the moment, Adrian quietly left the cabin turning out the lights along the way.

"Women," Adrian muttered just before he hit the switch on the outside to close the door.

Teelana snickered at his muttered comment and finally let sleep overcome her.

Jake looked up from the navigation board when Adrian stepped in. "That was fast."

"Get your mind out of the sewer, Rockwell," Adrian growled, settling into the pilot's seat. He set the proximity alert in the event a ship caught them in hyperspace, or – more likely – was detected directly in their path in normal space.

"You mean to tell me with all the time you two have been 'alone', per say, you two haven't…"

"That's between me and her," Adrian said firmly. "Just for the record: No, we didn't. Not that it's any of your business. Now drop it."

"Okay," Jake said after a moment's thought. He exaggerated a yawn and decided to sack out on the couch in the common area.

Finally alone with his thoughts, Adrian pondered Teelana's comments and action earlier. It was definitely out of character for her. It was not uncommon for a relationship to develop during times of stress and dangerous such as the adventure they were currently on. But was this right between them? Adrian was unsure how to take it. Or how far. Teelana was far too classy a lady for any of the juvenile flirtations she usually received. Although she gave it no more mind than as an acknowledgement of her beauty, Adrian suspected she had deeper feelings she refused to share even with herself.

Whatever the case, he would have to let her make the next move, if there was one.

"It was the exhaustion. That's it. She didn't know what she was doing," Adrian said aloud. "Yeah, right. Even I don't believe that."

Adrian reclined the seat back as far as it would go and fixated on the streaking rainbow of color outside the view port. Eventually, sleep overcame him.

148


	18. Ch 15

Fifteen

Nebula N-3472

Near the Val-kyrie Border

Ten hours after departing the penal planet, the liberated slave transport dropped out of hyperspace near the nebula where they were to rendezvous with the _Ladyhawke_ and the _Eternia_. So far, all was going more or less according to plan.

Colonel Markson stared at the main view panel taking in the majestic spread of the gas nebula with an eye toward tactics. Analysis of the cloud showed the composition would be more than sufficient to block any sensor scans.

"All right, Corbin," Colonel Markson said to their pilot. "Take us in as fast as you can get us there."

"Aye, sir," the lieutenant replied. His fingers tapped out commands and the transport responded. As long as they were going in a straight line the ship responded. It handled like a stuck pig when making turns, however.

"Ensign Wardman has been doing pretty good down in the engine room," Sergeant Apone said.

The bridge had been cramped enough with a pilot, navigator, sensor operator and him and the colonel. Occupying the weapons and engineering stations would have been two bodies too many even after they replaced their shocktrooper armor for their Guardian Command issue combat armor.

"How are the teams doing scouting the ship?" Colonel Markson said, eying the displays around the bridge.

"We've covered half the ship so far. Captain Takamora is making his way toward engineering along the starboard side. The other teams should be about finished along the port side. We've been getting some reports of strange noises here and there in the unoccupied spaces. So far, nothing. Could just be the machinery, but we're not taking any chances."

"Good idea," the colonel agreed. "Anything else?"

The sergeant hesitated a moment. "He-man has started complaining again."

Colonel Markson rolled his eyes. "What is it _this_ time?"

"He is upset that we are confining him and his people to the slave pens in the center of the ship."

The colonel let go a derisive growl. "Doesn't he understand that's the safest part of the ship to be in if we are boarded? It wouldn't do to have those people get in the way in a fire fight."

"He's been told several times by me, the captain, _and_ his sister, but he still refuses to see reason," Apone said.

"The Sorceress never mentioned he was so headstrong. Still, being exiled on that planet may be a part of it," Markson speculated. "He could at least thank us for rescuing them."

"I dunno. Seems to me like he didn't want to be rescued," Apone pointed out. "We can worry about that later." He stepped aside to take a call over the tactical net they had set up using walkie-talkies.

"How long until the _Ladyhawke_ rendezvous with us?" Colonel Markson asked Corbin.

"Still a couple of hours, sir. They could have beaten us here by hours, but running a rear guard will take time. We should meet up by the time we enter the nebula." Corbin appeared confident of his analysis, so Markson let it go.

Apone returned from his brief conversation. "Looks like there may be some valid evidence of something moving around in the aft part of the ship. I just received several more reports along with an unconfirmed sighting of a black mass moving around just behind the slave pen area."

"If this is a stowaway, can it get into the pens?"

"Not according to the specs, but you never know. I'd like to take a team out and have a look," Apone requested.

"Do it," The colonel said. "And don't get dead."

Ensign Wardman hated this creepy, old ship. He was well aware that ships made sounds as their structures warps and settled over time. Accounting for all the particular sounds of the equipment in the engine room had been a lengthy task, but the young man had the chamber mapped out to the quietest beep. Still, he kept hearing sounds from just outside the chamber. It was as if someone or something was prowling the corridors. He checked the massive engine room -and its absurd packing of every bit of equipment Horde engineers assumed needed to be there- once more.

Several of the patrols thought Wardman's imagination was running wild. Who could blame him being left all alone in the aft end of the ship? But as more reports of movement in unoccupied areas came in, the less likely Wardman seemed to be losing his grip on reality.

Captain Takamora entered the section, surprising the ensign. The five soldiers fanned out to secure the area.

"I really wish you wouldn't sneak up on people like that," Wardman complained.

Hohiro grinned, "Can't help it. My people have been doing that since the Pacific Campaign of World War Two."

"Very funny. There is something big walking around out there."

"That's why we're here," Hohiro replied. "Jackson. Rolston. You two stay here. The rest of us will start searching forward. Apone is going to start working his way toward us. Move out. Maximum silence and safeties off. Watch your fire and check your targets. Anyone who fires without my okay goes out the nearest airlock to float home. Clear?"

They answered affirmative and melted into the darkness of the corridor. Jackson and Rolston took up station near the chamber's only entrance, positioning themselves out of direct line-of-sight. Wardman continued to monitor the engines and fusion reactor from the main panel amid a cluster of stations ten feet to the right of the hatch.

After ensuring all was normal, the ensign once again wandered toward the view ports at the back of the chamber. The view of the fusion core was awe inspiring. The massive core stood vertically in the chamber beyond. Nothing on Earth compared in size to what Wardman was looking at except maybe the collider built in Europe. Aft of the core were the main engines connected by a nest of pipes, power conduits, and electronics modules. The blue/white pulsing glow radiating from the central sphere was almost hypnotic.

Sounds of something large scrapping out in the corridor snapped the ensign back to reality. He ducked down when Jackson waved for him to take cover.

The soldiers tensely waited as the sounds continued.

Sergeant Apone lead the way using hand signs to move his people about checking ever corner, access hatch, and side corridor. So far, they had not found a thing. The soldiers in engineering suddenly reported noises in their area, but Apone's squad was too far away. Nevertheless, he pressed on checking everything along the way. Since they had no idea what they might be up against, it wouldn't do to get caught off guard if there turned out to be more than one stowaway.

Hohiro made it back to the corridor outside engineering without meeting any resistance. Whatever was making the noise seemed to have moved on. The captain caught Jackson's eye and communicated through hand signals. The private indicated that whatever they were chasing had moved off in Apone's direction even though his group was one deck up and further forward. Hohiro signaled for Jackson and company to stay put.

The scouting teams were starting to get a bead on where the stowaway was moving about. Colonel Markson followed their progress through occasional reports over the tac net. Since the teams were trying to move in near silence, the last thing they needed was an ill-timed call from him. Instead, Colonel Markson sought out the three Guardians aboard ship to bring them up to speed on the situation. Since he still owed the karma Gods in spades, Jon had every reason to believe they were in for some serious action.

Sonya, Brad, and Jeromy were assisting several troopers with storing weapons and equipment just outside the hangar bay. None of the weapons were loaded for safety reasons except for those carried by the soldiers. Colonel Markson pulled them aside, since the job was mostly complete, and brought them up to speed.

"We seem to have a stowaway onboard. Something big is prowling the lower decks and I have a feeling we're going to need your armor if this gets hairy," the colonel explained. He picked up three walkie-talkies from an open box and passed them out.

"Where do you want us?" Jeromy asked.

"If it's something nasty left behind by the Horde, we'll try to flush it up here to the hangar bay and blow it out into space," Colonel Markson said grimly.

Sonya muttered under breath. "I can see this ending badly."

"Let's just hope it's bad luck for the stowaway and not for us, yes?" Brad replied.

Apone's voice crackled over the tac net. _"Colonel, we found it."_

Pressing the transmit button on the unit in a pouch at his left should, the colonel answered, "You got a good look at it?"

There was a pause before the Gunnery Sergeant answered, _"That's a roger. I don't think it has seen us yet or knows we're here, fortunately."_

"That doesn't sound good," Jeromy muttered.

"Explain," Colonel Markson demanded.

"_Remember that…thing Adrian fought for Cardas' amusement?"_

"Don't tell me-"

"_Yeah, only this one isn't damaged and run down like that one was."_

Sonya hissed a curse in Russian.

"_It looks like the thing is walking some kind of patrol route as it if was looking for anyone who managed to escape from the slave pens."_

"All right. Keep a low profile for now while we get ready up here. Once we're set, I want you and Hohiro to drive that thing up to the hangar bay. The Guardians will take it from there and blow it out into space," Colonel Markson explained. He received a nod from Brad, Sonya, and Jeromy. "I don't care how you do it. Just don't shoot up any system me might regret losing later."

Apone snorted, looking around at his companions. "Roger that. We'll be ready." He waved his people back away from the main corridor.

Hohiro materialized from the darkness behind them. "So what do you have in mind?"

Everyone jumped at the oriental's sudden appearance.

"Are you _trying_ to give us all a heart attack?" Apone growled.

They all froze as the monstrosity out in the corridor continued its rounds coming dangerously close to discovering the soldiers. No one moved or even breathed until the biomechanical monster was far enough away.

"Well, we're going to have to use live bait to draw that thing where we want it to go," Hohiro said.

"Adrian had a hell of time with one of those things, and that one was in pretty bad shape," Apone pointed out. "How are we going to keep from getting killed by that thing?"

"Well, in the absence of Olympia sprinters, we'll just have to make use of the side corridors. Our fastest runners to keep the creature interested and shooters to keep its attention focused where we want it," Hohiro elaborated. "Once we get it to the hangar bay, the Guardians will take it from there and eject our unwanted passenger."

Apone snorted. "It always sounds so easy on paper."

Tense minutes passed as the large bulkhead hatches were opened to allow the runners to lead the creature where they wanted it to go. The three Guardians waited in the hangar bay, having activated their armor to full battle-mode. They would be the instruments for ejecting their unwanted passenger. There had no need to assign runners to the task of antagonizing the biomechanical monstrosity; they happily volunteered. Sonya figured after having been cooped up in shocktrooper armor for days standing around in the _Ladyhawke_'s cargo hold, running through the corridors with a monster chasing them would be a welcome change, perverse as that seemed.

Jeromy had unpacked four disposable rocket tubes, released the pins, extended the tubes, and made them ready to fire at a moment's notice. When asked, he would only say that they were insurance if the fight did not go well.

Brad had been looking forward to the confrontation. His personality had undergone subtle changes ever since he began using the Claw battle suit. Whether it was from association with Jake Rockwell, or the influence of the battle suit's artificial intelligence, no one could be sure. Brad was itching to take the monster on and prove that he was just as good as Adrian, Jake, and even the Sorceress. It was a dangerous mindset that could endanger his companions. Or it could simply be that he was eager to contribute. Only time would tell.

Jeromy and Sonya were more reserved about the situation. While Adrian didn't exactly have it easy taking on Cardas' rundown monster, he was able to tap that inner well of ferocity the others had yet to find.

The comm system crackled to life with the hectic, and sometimes frantic, reports as the runners began their deadly game of drawing the monster out. The Guardians readied their weapons and fanned out in the hangar to await their enemy.

He-man and She-ra made a most untimely appearance in the hangar control center just as the operation began. Both were dressed in the filthy rags that had long ago replaced their costumes; especially She-ra's short skirt dress. After the near arid conditions of the penal planet, the slave transport was almost like living in a freezer to them.

"This really isn't a good time," Colonel Markson said tightly, trying to hold his irritation in check.

"We are not here to get in your way, Colonel. If the Sorceress thinks you people are worthy of her friendship, we might as well see what she sees," She-ra explained.

Markson thought the explanation could have been clearer, but he didn't have time to ponder it. Through the open hatch he could hear the faint roars as his people aggravated the creature into following them right where they wanted it to go.

A runner would draw the creature's attention, sprint off toward to the bow of the transport, and dive into a side corridor about fifty-yards downrange. He would close the bulkhead behind him as the next person in line took up the chase. Usually, he would have to fire a laser bolt or two at the beast to draw its attention and continue the run. Once the monster was on its way, the previous runner would emerge and close the blast door in the corridor so the creature could not double back.

So far no one had had a misstep or a scary moment, if one considers antagonizing a twenty-foot biomechanical monster with a mean disposition nothing more than just another day at work.

The last runner flashed past the open cargo hatch to the hangar bay, firing the occasional laser bolt behind him. Instead of diving into a side corridor, another soldier hit the control slamming the blast door closed in the monster's path. Seconds after the door slammed shut, the bioengineered creature slammed head-long into the barrier. Frustrated, it turned to the closed hatch leading straight into the slave pens. The corridor was still too dark for the Guardians to get a good look at it, but the vibrations in the deck and the roaring hinted at something very big, very powerful, and definitely not happy.

The three Guardians took an involuntary step backward at the sight of the beast when it stepped into the brightly lit hangar bay. Descriptions from those who had been present in the area when Adrian found a similar creature just did not do it justice.

No attempt had been made to hide the mechanical prosthetics that replaced powerful arms and legs. Armor plates covered the chest, back, and neck. The cranium was protected by a cap and an electronic enhancement replaced the right eye. The creature's native species must have been something fearsome to behold in its natural environment. Horde enhancements made it a certifiable nightmare.

"Jesus," Brad hissed, griping his scimitars tightly. "That thing is armored like a battleship."

Sonya replied, "Even battleship have its weak spot."

"Uh, colonel, what exactly did Adrian do to stop this thing?" Jeromy said, taking aim with his laser rifles.

"Bone claws up under the chin. Only soft spot he could find," Markson answered.

"Dis is going to go ugly," Sonya put in.

The creature suddenly charged straight at Hawk. Despite bracing herself, the impact still slammed her backward. Claw jumped to her defense hacking at an arm with his scimitars. He did little more than chip the hardened armor. Claw's reward was a backhand flinging him violently away. The scimitars were lost in the fall, but Claw struck out with his other weapons. The hands receded into the forearms as the trademark claws, normally retracted, snapped out into place, and fired out to clamp onto the behemoth's lower legs.

Hawk found herself being upended with the monster lying atop her. Blitzkrieg unloaded another barrage of laser bolts that left smoking craters in the monster's armored back, but did not penetrate. Hawk struggled to break the death grip the cyber beast had on her, but she did not have any leverage. Worse, the beast was starting to put the squeeze on her.

Blitzkrieg and Claw rushed forward and attempted to pull the creature off Hawk, but it would not budge. It climbed to its feet with the Guardian still clamped in a deadly bear hug.

"This is not going like I had hoped," Jeromy remarked, retrieving his laser rifles and firing off a few more ineffectual volleys at the monster's back.

"Well, we do need to protect the ship. We can't get as physical as we'd like," Brad said. He took a few swings at the legs with his scimitars hoping for a lucky strike in a vulnerable spot. The blades found only tough armor.

"This is crazy. War Wing and Gatling Arm would have made short work of this thing," Jeromy complained.

"Open the hangar bay door," Sonya requested. The squeeze was starting to compromise some of Hawk's systems.

Colonel Markson nodded to the soldier in the control room with him. A force field snapped into place around the large opening to keep the atmosphere in. Warning sirens warbled, and the massive hatch rose upward. Glittering pinpoints of light dotted the blackness beyond.

"Okay, now what?" Jeromy demanded.

"Get missiles," Sonya said tightly. The strain on the armor was becoming intolerable. Hawk wouldn't hold out much longer.

"What about you?"

"I can't take much more of this. Do it!"

Colonel Markson stepped in. "You heard her."

"Jeromy, trust me," Sonya pleaded. On her heads up display warnings began to pop up. The arms would be crushed soon if she didn't find a way out of the creature's death grip.

Seeing no other choice, Jeromy stepped over to the rockets lying against the back wall and gingerly picked on up in each hand. He had practiced earlier for just this moment. While Jeromy got ready, Brad took one more shot at the beast's legs with his scimitars set at full power. The vibro blades bit into the back of the right knee and actually broke through the thin armor. Something sparked violently and the creature roared in pain, but it refused to release Hawk.

Brad dove out of the way as Jeromy took aim. The rockets crossed the distance in a blink of an eye to explode against the back armor. They did practically no damage, but that wasn't the point. The impacts added to the strain on the damaged right knee causing the beast to stumble closer to the open hangar door.

Hawk ordered Jeromy to fire his other rockets to knock the creature out into the vacuum. Armored or not, the organic parts could not withstand the cold of space for long. The second volley slammed into the beast's back, spinning it around. Hawk fired her backpack thrusters and blasted them both out into the unforgiving vacuum.

Although she could feel the vibrations, Sonya watched the image of the creature screaming silently in the vacuum and almost laughed at the comic sight. She still had to detach herself from the beast before the transport moved too far away for her to make it back.

In the collars and the helmets of nearly every Guardian suit were some type of gun, whether it be projectile of energy. The barrels set on either side of Hawk's head, just behind and below the eyes, opened blazed to life. Plasma bolts peppered the beast about the head and shoulders. The cybernetic device on the right side of its head took a direct hit blasting it into worthless junk. The shock was enough to cause the monster to loosen its grip. Hawk threw everything into breaking the death grip and finally succeeded.

Sonya wouldn't be able to recall later how she did it, only that she saw the action in her mind and Hawk made it happen.

Hawk's feet came up to bring the thrusters in them to bear. A simultaneous blast from the foot thrusters and the backpack thrusters kept her in place while blasting the creature away into a lonely freefall. Newton's Third law of equal and opposite reactions actually worked. Now all she had to do was figure out how she was going to get back to the transport, which was still heading for the nebula at full sub-light speed.

Gabe had been fairly sure the suits were not equipped for space battles, so they would have to figure out how to make those adjustments. What he never counted on was a suit's ability to adapt itself as needed, if it was within its power to do so. To that end, Sonya found Hawk managed to make enough adaptations to be able to make small maneuvers. She managed to spin around to face the retreating transport.

As Sonya considered the option of firing the backpack thrusters and letting them go until the charge was exhausted. As Hawk worked out the calculations, the heads-up display lit up with an incoming threat. It was too small to be seen with the naked eye, but it was out there and coming in fast.

Something flashed past on her left. It was a four-pronged grappling hook attached to an etherium cable. Instinctively, Sonya reached out for it even as Hawk finished running the numbers. Etherium fingers closed around the cable as it was being reeled back in. The hook thumped in her hand and she was being dragged back toward the ship.

"Well? What is the verdict?" Sonya asked Hawk.

"Claw fired the grappling hook. It would appear he had just enough cable to reach us," the suit's artificial intelligence answered. "That is good because even on maximum burn, and using all available power, we would not have been able to even match speed with the transport; much less overtake it."

"You are a ray of sunshine," Sonya said wryly.

"Just being a realist. War Wing and Gatling Arm are crazy enough for the rest of us."

"We thought you could talk to one another, though we could not confirm it."

"You never asked," Hawk replied. "We are more than mere machines with artificial intelligence. I believe Adrian told you on several occasions to spend more time trying to understand us."

"Da. He did. We…did not make the time," Sonya agreed. "When this mission is over I will be happy to learn more about you and your former operator."

The AI appeared pleased and relieved. "I will enjoy telling you about her. A most wonderful person. Looks like we have arrived."

Claw reeled in the last of the cable pulling Hawk through the force field and back into the hangar bay. Blitzkrieg punched the button to close the bay door.

"I seem to have misplaced my beam weapon," Sonya said.

"Oh, you mean this?" Jeromy said, picking deactivated weapon up where it lay with the scimitars Brad had dropped to launch the grappling hook and cable.

Returning the weapon to its clamp on the backpack, Sonya tapped the six-pointed star on her chest. The others followed suit and shrank their armor down to the combat-mode power armor Tony Stark would have drooled over. The Guardians removed their helmets as the personnel and cargo hatches were opened.

"That went well," Colonel Markson said, surveying the various dents left in the walls and floor by the battle.

"Nyet," Sonya disagreed firmly. "We did not perform as expected."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Apone growled around his trademark cigar stub. "We knew this thing wasn't damaged and expected it to be a fight. Looks to me like you did fine."

"She's right," Brad sighed. "We should have done better."

"Well, you are still learning how to work together with the suits. A few teething problems are to be expected," Hohiro said, walking in through the cargo hatch.

"The bottom line is the creature is gone and we can get into the nebula and await the _Ladyhawke_ without wondering if there are any more surprises on board," the colonel said. "You three did a good job getting rid of that thing. We certainly couldn't have done better." He turned to Apone and Hohiro. "Your people did a good job luring the thing out."

"We'll pass it along," Apone promised. "If there is nothing else, I think we need to stand down as many as we can. We're going to need everyone sharp when the Horde catches up to us."

"Granted," Markson agreed. "See to it."

He-man and She-ra returned to the pens and their people. She-ra appeared shaken somewhat by the fight she had witnessed between the Guardians and the biomechanical creature the Horde employed on the transports and as battlefield weapons. He-man appeared unmoved, as if everything he had seen Colonel Markson and his people do was just what he expected from technologically inferior barbarians.

Markson entered the bridge just as the transport was finally passing the outer boundaries of the nebula. Lieutenant Corbin followed the scans of clouds looking for the densest part in which to park the ship. Markson began to relax a little now that the first leg of the journey was over. _Eternia_ would undoubtedly be on the way by now. Once Adrian arrived with his ship, they would have the firepower to defend the transport and meet Captain Majourny along the way, if circumstanced forced them to abandon the nebula.

"We're in place, colonel," Corbin reported. "Passive sensor probe at the edge is transmitting. It won't give us much of a warning, but it will tell us if a ship comes out of hyperspace."

"Good. Let's try and contact Cobretti. He should be in the area by now," Markson ordered.

Corbin keyed the comm panel. "Lone Wolf, this is Bad Karma. Respond." Static greeted his transmission so he tried again. After the sixth attempt Corbin finally got a reply.

"Bad Karma, this is Lone Wolf," Adrian Cobretti's voice crackled from the speaker. "Where are you?"

"Where we are supposed to be. Where are you?" Colonel Markson said.

Adrian chuckled. "What a coincidence. So are we."

Serene and comforting, like a friend or relative come home again, the _Ladyhawke_ soared past the transport's bow in full view of the bridge crew.

Phase two was now complete.

155


	19. Ch 16

**Sixteen**

Starship _Eternia_

Primus Solar System

Date:_ Unknown_

_The Sorceress stood on the bridge of the starship _Eternia_, but it was not the ship she was now familiar with. This was the original ship that arrived in Earth's solar system damaged almost beyond repair. She looked at the chronometer on the helmsman's console, read the date displayed, and knew when and where she was. She was not flesh and blood, either. Now, she was the ship's avatar; a holographic projection of the computer's artificial intelligence._

_It was the time when He-man went into the future to answer the plea for help from the Planet Primus. Skeletor had followed and taken command of the mutants He-man had been recruited to fight against. However, after almost a year of conflict, the mutants had been defeated and Skeletor and his mate, Crita, were last seen flying away in a shuttle pod._

_Now it was time to return home to the past and secure Eternia's future. Although Skeletor was gone, there was still a lot of work to be done. The Snake Men, under the leadership of the ruthless King Hiss, still threaten the land. Skeletor's minions would still need to be dealt with, as well. Without their leader, Skeletor's followers would once again pursue their own goals and ambitions._

_And then there was Hordak and the Horde on Etheria to deal with. Sorceress didn't even want to think about how many people may get hurt or killed driving Hordak and his forces back into Despondos._

_The hatch opened and He-man stepped through looking handsome as ever, power sword slung across his back. Sorceress secretly hoped he and Teela could work things out. She would be upset once he revealed that Adam was really He-man, but she would get over it. Maybe, if things went right, there would not be a need for a guardian for Castle Grayskull, or, at least, not one to reside there full time. Teela could replace her as the Sorceress, and still marry Adam. It was a nice dream she hoped might one day come true._

_Before any of that happened, however, they had to get home._

_He-man never did get used to seeing the Sorceress like this. Dressed in a silver armor suit with blue detailing, the costume flattered her shapely curves. The headdress was very different from the falcon crest she had worn. In its place was a winged helmet matching the costume. Once they returned to Eternia, she would be released from the ship's computer and be returned to Castle Grayskull as its guardian._

"_Where are the others? I thought they would be coming with us," Sorceress inquired when no one else stepped through the hatch._

"_No," He-man answered sounding a little disappointed. "Flipshot and the others have been charged with maintaining the peace we fought so hard for. So, it's just you and me to return and fight for peace in our time."_

_Sorceress nodded. A quick check of the ship's systems and found all was in order. While she was a part of the computer system, the Sorceress still retained some of her power. In a short time she would using that power to open a time/space portal back to Eternia…and home._

"_Is everything ready?"He-man asked. He had seen the faraway look in her holographic eyes and knew she was reviewing the ship systems in the way only she could do._

"_Yes," Sorceress replied after a moment. "All systems are functioning. We may proceed when you are ready."_

"_You know, I'm going to miss the almost musical note in your voice when we get back," He-man said, smiling. "You have been such a help running this ship. You advice and guidance were also invaluable, as always."_

"_It is my honor to serve, as always. However, I will not miss being merged with this ship," Sorceress confessed. "Had I never been born of flesh and blood it might be different, but I look forward to returning home."_

_Taking a seat at the helm console," He-man said, "Well, let's get on with it."_

"_Very well," Sorceress answered._

_It took only a moment to access the flight controls and orient the _Eternia_ toward where the portal will open. The dimensional engines were warmed up and ready to go. A command from her and the engines activated creating a time/space portal. It took a few moments for the familiar oval portal of radiating orange streaks of light to coalesce and stabilize._

"_The portal is stable," Sorceress pronounced, confirming what the instruments in front of He-man reported. "We may proceed at your digression."_

Eternia_'s main engines ignited like solar flares against the inky blackness of space. The ship slowly picked up speed as Sorceress guided it toward the center of the portal. She read off the distance to the event horizon every minute. The ship closed on the target at a little over one hundred meters per second. Sensors showed no anomalies or enemies in the area. It appeared the passage through the portal would be a smooth one._

_At two thousand kilometers all that changed. Small gravity waves struck the ship every few seconds. An application of attitude thrusters kept the ship on course, but as the distance shrank, the force of the waves increased._

_He-man grew noticeably concerned. "Is this normal?" he asked, bulking up the five-point safety belts._

"_No. This should be a smooth flight," Sorceress replied, puzzled. "Excuse me for a moment." The holographic avatar disappeared._

_He-man waited as the Sorceress went about whatever she was doing. He watched the portal home grow larger by the moment hoping nothing was wrong with it or the ship. He wanted to get home almost as much as the Sorceress did, but he wanted to get there in one piece._

_He-man scanned the sensor display intently. The portal appeared normal on the scan, but the increasing severity of the gravity waves did not show up at all. That was strange since the sensors were calibrated to an extreme sensitivity to such things. That could only mean the instability was in the magic and not in the equipment. But that couldn't be right, either. The equipment was a blend of science and magic so there shouldn't be a problem._

_Unless some external force was tampering with the portal._

_The Sorceress returned in a flash materializing behind the helm station. "The portal is stable and the equipment keeping it open is in working order. There seems to be an instability coming from _within_ the portal."_

"_You mean someone or something is affecting where the portal goes?"_

"_Difficult to say. Unfortunately, we can't pull back. We will cross the event horizon in fifteen seconds. I would need at least a minute to come to a full stop at this speed," Sorceress said regretfully._

_He-man set his face in a grim expression. "Then let's hope we make it through without too many bumps."_

_Sadly, it was not to be._

_The gravity waves grew worse as the ship neared the event horizon. The ride turned smooth as glass as _Eternia_ entered the portal. Instead of crossing into the atmosphere of Planet Eternia as with the much smaller cousins He-man had used time and again, the ship entered a time/space tunnel. This was definitely not how it was supposed to go._

_Warning klaxons suddenly began blaring and red lights flashed not only on the bridge, but the status boards on nearly every station lit up. He-man frantically worked the controls trying to sort things out, but nothing made any sense. The ship shook violently as it passed through the tunnel. The instruments, however, said there was nothing outside but a stable time/space tunnel._

"_Sorceress, what's going on? I have no reading as to why the ship is behaving as it is. Sorceress? Sorceress!" He-man grew concerned with her lack of response._

_A partial reason was clear on one his status displays. The computer was almost completely disabled. This made it impossible for the Sorceress to do anything more than watch helplessly as events unfolded._

Eternia_ lurched sickeningly hard to port. An explosion somewhere in the aft section shook the space frame. The starboard engine flickered and died in moments. More violent vibrations rattled the starship to the bone as more and more systems overloaded and blew out._

_The central buckle for the five-point harness popped open from the jarring and He-man tumbled to the pitching deck. That was the last thing the Sorceress saw before all the internal sensors failed. The last thing she knew as the external sensors overloaded was the approach of the tunnel's end._

_She had no idea how long it had been before she could see again, but when she cracked open her eyelids, Sorceress wished she hadn't. Blinding white lights directly overhead stabbed deep into her brain, and she winced in pain and snapped her eyes shut again. Sorceress tired repeatedly to open her eyes and slowly great accustomed to the intense light, though the stabbing pain persisted._

_It didn't dawn on her that she was flesh and blood again instead of a consciousness trapping in a mass of compute circuits until blurry images of people swam into her field of vision. Sorceress tried to speak, but her vocal cords refused to work. Try as she might, none of her limbs would move. Oh, she could feel everything, so she wasn't paralyzed in any way that she was familiar with, the limbs just did not move. She was not restrained in any way that she could identify, but that did nothing to keep the growing knot of fear at bay._

_The blurry figures over her conversed amongst themselves as if she did not exist. Sorceress had little doubt she was the topic of discussion, but she could not hear even the sound of their speech._

_Whatever was under discussion suddenly took a back seat a white hot pain shot through every nerve in her body. Sorceress opened her mouth to scream, but her vocal cords still refused to work. It was as if a torch had been applied to every nerve ending all at once. The pain lasted for only a few seconds, but it seemed to last a lifetime. That round was but the first of many as the Sorceress was tortured to the brink of her sanity._

_Who were her captors? What did they want from her? Where was she? What had happened to the starship _Eternia_? These questions rattled around in the Sorceress' brain even as she begged mentally for the torment to stop. What could they possibly hope to gain torturing her, anyway? Another part of her mind suggested that it wasn't torture at all. Maybe they were healing her or something close to that? She had been without a body, after all. A consciousness locked inside the _Eternia'_s computer. Maybe being returned to flesh and blood form came with a certain amount of pain and suffering as they ensured her physical form functioned properly._

_Whatever the case, the cycle of pain continued for an undetermined time because time didn't seem to work where ever in the universe she was. Then, at last, the Sorceress passed out._

_She awoke again some time later in what would become the familiar surroundings of an infirmary on the planet _Earth_. The day she met a man who would take her in as one of the family despite her appearance as some sort of humanoid bird, which was only a costume._

_General Hammond smiled at the Sorceress with his trademark fatherly expression. "Hello. My name is General Eugene Hammond. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Planet _Earth_."_

159


	20. Ch 17

**Seventeen**

Nebula N-3472

Near the Val-kyrie Border

Teelana awoke abruptly in a cold sweat, heart pounding in her chest, mouth dry, and head aching. Her left hand joined the procession when she accidently banged it against the bulkhead. She stopped to let her mind clear so that she didn't hurt herself any further.

"Damn," she hissed as the last images of the nightmare faded away.

"And here I figured you for a morning person. Or maybe it's something else?" Falcon said. The armor's beautiful avatar leaned against the wall, arms folded beneath her breasts.

"I am not pregnant, if that's what you are insinuating. It's been a long time since I was intimate with a man," Teelana confessed before she realized who she was talking to.

"Well, that certainly explains a few things," Falcon said blithely.

"Is there any reason why you are here other than to tease me?"

"You appeared upset a moment ago. Why?"

Teelana sighed heavily, untangled herself from the blankets and sat on the edge of the bed. "I was close. I almost had it."

Falcon looked confused. "Close to what?"

"The truth to what happened after the starship _Eternia_ entered the time/space portal to return to the past."

"Oh, yes. He-man's mission into the future. I had forgotten you didn't come by Earth in a fashionable way," Falcon mused. "You said your memory is blank at the moment of entry through the portal and doesn't start again until you woke up in an infirmary on Earth."

"That's right. Only it seems like there is an amount of time in between the two memories that were wiped away."

Falcon shook her head. "No. that's not possible to do. Suppression of memory, however, is possible. But why would someone do that?"

Teelana rose from the bed. She paced about the cabin, which suddenly seemed too small for comfort. "I saw more beyond the entry into the portal this time, more than I have in the past, but I can't remember any of it now." Try as she might, nothing she dreamed would come back to her. She bordered on tears because of the frustration her shoddy memory was causing.

"Quit trying." Falcon said simply.

"What? Why? Kodec told me I had a hole in my mind where those memories should be. Something happened, Falcon. Something that left me dying until the castle healed me. Why should that remain a mystery?" Of all the people she could tell, Teelana would have thought the sentient armor would at least want to assist her in finding the truth.

Falcon pushed off the wall and faced her counterpart looking as serious as heart attack. "Listen to me very carefully, Sorceress of Grayskull, and listen well," Falcon began gravely. "That you returned from the future with missing time is not in doubt. That your body ceased to function for a time and was repaired by Castle Grayskull is not in doubt." The red jewel Teelana had replaced in the falcon's eye on her vest glowed angrily with Falcon's every word. "What _is_ in doubt is your reasons for pursuing this. Lack of a good night's sleep isn't it since I seriously doubt you have this nightmare every night. Correct?"

Teelana nodded, stunned by Falcon's bluntness.

"There is a very good reason why certain memories have been hidden from you. Looking for answers before you are ready can only end one way. Badly. The six who came before you met such a fate because the time was not right for answers." Falcon paused, remembering Cirandar's memories of the final days when the last Shadow Demon was hunting the Guardians. The last days when all but one died safeguarding the armor for the future. "Your predecessors found that out the hard way. They sought out answers before they were ready, before it was time for answers to be revealed, and they died for it. Your answers will come in time when they are meant to. Go looking for them, and whoever gave you the disease will see to it you die a second time, permanently."

Teelana grudgingly admitted Falcon's argument made sense. She had no idea who or what was behind the degenerative disease, but stirring up trouble could be just as deadly. Much as she wanted to know what had happened during the flight, who was responsible, and why, Teelana almost didn't want to know the truth because she was afraid it might not be anything like what she theorized.

"All right," Teelana said at last. "I yield to your logic."

"Good," Falcon said, pleased. "Much as we don't like to coerce our operators into doing something they don't want to do, there are occasions where it is warranted. Besides, I'm getting too damn old to break in another operator."

Teelana finally realized the familiar vibrations of the ship were not present. In fact, it appeared that the _Ladyhawke_ was powered down. Falcon told her they had docked with the slave transport a few minutes before Teelana woke up. She knew one of the med techs would be coming to examine her hand, so Teelana decided she had better look her best. She did have an image to uphold, after all. Before Falcon would go away, she made one request.

The medallion posing as the red jewel in the falcon's eye on Teelana's chest popped itself out and fell into her hand. "When you change clothes, you would mind if I replace the jewel on your belt at the hip instead of the falcon's eye? It's not that I mind being that close to you, but when in the medallion form I spend enough time resting there."

Teelana nodded, and Falcon faded away. A few minutes were all it took to change clothes and a brief burst of magic refreshed her and made her look presentable. Setting her features into a neutral expression – the game face Adrian called it – Teelana pressed the button on the control pad to the right of the door. The hatch slid aside and she stepped out into the corridor just as Adrian was coming down the short staircase from the cockpit.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you awake yet," Adrian said, pleased to see her up at around. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough," Teelana replied, suddenly feeling self-conscious after her spontaneous action hours earlier. Maddeningly enough, Adrian acted as if nothing had happened.

"I'll look for Jaclyn and tell her to meet you in the cargo hold. I saw He-man and She-ra when I pulled into the transport's hangar. After the frosty reception on the penal planet I figured you'd had your fill of them for a while," Adrian said, walking toward the starboard air lock. "It's a long flight to the Val-kyrie homeworld. Much as I like a good cage match, I'd rather not see you and them go at it." He palmed the button to cycle the hatch. "At least, not yet." Adrian winked and walked out to greet the waiting Colonel Markson and Captain Takamora.

"Well, that went according to plan," Hohiro said, clasping Adrian's hand in a firm grip.

"Well, not exactly, but close enough," Adrian replied. "We tangled with a destroyer a few light-years away. Destroyed a few of their fighters and then tried to lead it away in a different direction. Not sure how successful I was. We may have to leave before the _Eternia_ gets here."

"There goes the neighborhood," Hohiro remarked dryly.

"We knew we might not stay very long. That's why I had Lieutenant Corbin begin heading for the far side of the nebula after the _Ladyhawke_ docked," the colonel put in. "I don't suppose you know how long we have?" he asked Adrian.

"Not a clue. Someone has been dogging our trail since we left the planet Wayfarer," Adrian answered.

"Rongar?"

"Rongar."

Markson sighed. "Doesn't that guy ever take a day off?"

"And make our lives easier for a brief day or two?" Hohiro quipped. "Never."

"Get your ship recharged and ready to go. We'll need its firepower when the enemy finds us," the colonel ordered. "Then get some rest. I need everyone fresh when the action starts."

Adrian looked around at the dents and peeled metal around the hangar bay. "Looks to me like you've already seen some action."

"Yeah, let us tell you about it," Brad said. He and the other Guardians entered the bay through the cargo hatch.

"Talk while I hook up the power cables," Adrian said. He had positioned the _Ladyhawke_ so that the nose pointed toward the hangar doors. The access panels for the recharging cables were at the rear of the bay behind the ship by design to recharge smaller vessels using the transport's fusion core.

Brad detailed their adventure as Adrian reeled out the cables to the access port on the back of his ship between the engine nacelles. Adrian enjoyed a good adventure story, but right now, Brad's recitation of the battle with the biomechanical monster was better than anything he had read. Jeromy and Sonya added clarification here and there when Brad's imagination got the better of him.

Hohiro talked about the relay through the corridors to drive the creature up to the hangar bay for the Guardians to kill or flush out into space. There were plenty of death defying moments to make any screenwriter proud, and any special effects department cringe at the prospect. In the end, the creature was ejected and no one got more than a few bumps and bruises.

Locking the last cable into place, Adrian waved to a soldier standing by the access panel. He called the engine room to start the power transfer, and pressed several switched in the access bay.

As Hohiro left to make his rounds, Adrian called after him. "If you see Jaclyn Smith, tell her the Sorceress needs medical attention. I dressed her wound as best I could, but I'd rather she took a look at it."

"Serious?" Hohiro asked, concerned.

"No, just a knife to the hand. Not life threatening." Adrian turned to the three Guardians still loitering around. "Now, what _exactly_ was this creature? You three beat around the bush describing it. Out with it."

The trio looked from one to another nervously. It wasn't that they didn't want to tell Adrian. How does one explain without making it sound like he somehow had an easy time again the biomechanical monster Cardas kept as a pet versus their intense fight again one that was not run down.

Finally, Sonya broke the silence. "Remember the creature you fought in Cardas' area?"

Adrian thought a moment, and then said, "No…"

"Da."

"Fully functional?"

"_Fully_ functional and very mean-spirited," Sonya said as neutrally as she could.

Adrian looked around at the damage the bay suffered in the battle, looked Sonya, Brad, and Jeromy in the eye, and burst out laughing. The trio shifted uncomfortably until Adrian composed himself. "And you three thought you needed me and Jake? Sounds like you did just fine without us."

"That thing nearly wiped the deck with us," Brad protested hotly.

"Only because you couldn't simply shoot it," Adrian pointed out. "Hull breaches are bad for a long life expectancy. Do you three really think Jake or I could have done any better? I didn't exactly have it easy in that area, you know. No one got killed or seriously hurt, and you three have a good war story for your memoirs. You did well. All of you"

Adrian excused himself to speak to the soldiers assigned by Captain Takamora to guard the _Ladyhawke_'s open airlock. He noticed several of the rescued inmates taking a casual interest in the ship and its crew, and Adrian wanted to make sure the Sorceress was not disturbed; especially by He-man and She-ra. The pair assured Adrian that none of the rescued people would gain access to the ship or to the Sorceress unless authorized by either her or Adrian per Colonel Markson's orders.

Satisfied, Adrian went in search of the colonel to discuss strategy when the enemy finally caught up to them.

Lieutenant Jaclyn Smith passed through the airlock, nodding to the friends guarding the inner and outer hatches, and called out for the Sorceress.

"I'm in the cargohold," Teelana responded.

Most of the remaining cargo had been removed. Only a few empty crates remained like the one Teelana sat on. A few odd containers remained with ammunition, spare parts, food rations, and other odds and ends. The refuse from the open crates and packages had been cleaned up and awaited proper disposal at a later time.

"And please call me Teelana. I won't be the Sorceress again until I return to the castle to undergo the transformation again, at least, not in my mind."

"Fair enough," Jaclyn said, taking off her helmet and set it and her medical pack on the deck next to her patient. "Is Teelana your given name?"

"Close enough. Like many Eternian names it's all in the pronunciation," Teelana answered. She made it clear she would not reveal the correct pronunciation out of security, if for no other reason.

Jaclyn didn't press the topic. She knew better and always recognized where the line was drawn. "So what happened to you?"

Teelana held up her bandaged left hand. "I tried out my bare-handed knife catching technique. It still needs work."

"In other words, you forgot Gabe's experiments proving was does and does not penetrate a magic shield," Jaclyn observed, carefully unwrapping the bandage to have a look at the wound.

Teelana's cheeks colored briefly with embarrassment. "Yes. Adrian cleaned the wound as best he could. Felt like he was stabbing me with a knife again."

The med tech examined the wound with a profession eye. "It's healing well enough. More than I would have thought in about ten to eleven hours. Your healing magic, no doubt. Cleaning it out certainly helped, and Adrian did a good job wrapping it up tight. First time I tried this it was so loose a mummy would have been embarrassed to wear it." She opened the medical pack and rummaged around inside and removed a roll of gauze, tape, and scissors. "It's always nice to see someone actually pays attention when I teach practical first aid techniques they don't teach you in the basic classes."

"I don't understand. I thought all military personnel attend mandatory classes," Teelana said, watching the woman work.

"Oh we do. But my training is much more than that," Jaclyn explained. "While we were preparing for the mission, Adrian asked me to teach him a few things only medical personnel are taught. I guess he figured since the two of you would be on your own until after the liberation on the penal planet, he wanted to know a few more things just as a precaution."

Teelana nodded, smiling wistfully. "He is quite resourceful. I think he almost enjoyed playing the part of a bounty hunter."

"And you didn't enjoy your part in this? Not even a little bit?" Jaclyn said pointedly. She prodded Teelana with a whimsical look.

Teelana couldn't resist for long, and admitted, "Well, it _was_ fun at times. That tri-wing made a nice crunching sound when I crushed it with my magic."

"Made a pretty explosion, too," the med tech agreed. "The rate your magic is working I would keep that covered for one more day to be sure it's healed up enough, then take the dressing off. Try not to scratch it if it itches. That's a good sign that it's healing."

"Too late. Feels like I have ants crawling around under the skin," Teelana said, rubbing her hand gently.

"You'll be fine," the med tech assured her. "We've been serving hot meals to the liberated masses. I can secure a bowl for you, if you're interested."

Teelana's stomach rumbled in answer. "Well, I guess you have your answer," she said, getting up.

"I can bring it to you. I gather by the guards outside that you don't want to be disturbed."

It turned out that the tension between Teelana, He-man, and She-ra was no state secret. News like that tends to spread like wildfire. No one would blame Teelana for wanting privacy. This mission had been stressful on everyone, and they still had a long way to go to get to safety.

"Thank you," Teelana said, not knowing what else to say.

Jaclyn smiled, shouldered her pack, and disappeared out of the bay.

Adrian entered the cramped bridge where he found Colonel Markson eying the graphic displaying the distance between them and the far boundary of the nebula. At their current speed they would emerge into open space in only a few minutes. Any Horde ship in the area would spot them within minutes if they were actively scanning.

The colonel looked up at the Guardian's arrival. "The probe we left at the other end had picked up a possible contact."

Corbin added, "It's hard to make out the type of ship using passive scanning. It may only be a smuggler or a private ship off course. We aren't near any of the popular shipping lanes so anyone out there is likely to someone we don't want to meet."

"Probably that destroyer we tangled with on the way here," Adrian confessed.

"More contacts. Smaller than the first and moving fast," Corbin reported.

"Fighters, what few of them we didn't take out," Adrian supplied.

"You know how to make trouble for me, Cobretti. You really, really do," Colonel Markson groused. "What makes you think it's Rongar after us, anyway?"

"Who else would be lurking around this region of space with free time on his hands and who has the capabilities to run our faces through some kind of facial recognition program?"

Markson grimaced. "You know I really hate it when you get all logical like that."

Grinning, Adrian left the bridge saying, "College education to break stuff…"

"And a high school education to fix it," the colonel finished. "Yeah, I know." He added to himself, "If that kid isn't careful, they'll promote him. Again."

Teelana ventured out of the bounty hunter ship, but not out of the hangar bay. He-man and She-ra had clearly been waiting for a chance to speak to her alone, but their rescuers made it obvious that wasn't going to happen. People came and went taking briefly with Teelana before carrying on with their duties.

The other Guardians arrived to recount their battle with the biomechanical monster. Once again, Sonya kept Brad and Jeromy to an accurate account of what happened. She was annoyed at the male tendency to over exaggerate things. She figured it had to do with testosterone poisoning, that, or some male ego thing.

Teelana said all performed well even if they didn't feel like they had done their best. She told them once again that they would have to take the time to commune with their sentient armor, get to know them better in order to function more like a team. They had been avoiding this because they were still uncomfortable with the idea of sentient machines. It probably had something to do with movies in Earth's culture about machines achieving sentience and deciding humans were unfit to live. The _Terminator_ movies sprang to Teelana's mind.

Fighting the Horde robot armies must be something like what she had seen in those movies. It was no wonder they had a hard time accepting the armor on the level that would be needed to fight the war with the Horde. That was something each of them would have to do on their own. Falcon and War Wing had been doing what they could to strengthen those ties, but the humans would have to take the big step and embrace what they were becoming on their own.

Adrian dashed into the bay with Jake Rockwell close behind. He went straight to the charging panel at the back of the ship and pulled out one cable after another. Sensing something was up, several soldiers pitched in to roll up the cables and stow them back in the compartment in the bay floor.

Teelana knew something was going on and she did not need a rocket scientist to figure out what it was. The Horde had found them, or soon would. Adrian and Jake argued about Jake staying on the transport when he wanted to go along. Teelana headed toward the open airlock to start take-off preparations.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Adrian said.

Teelana turned and stared Adrian in the eye. "Are you planning to leave me behind as well?"

"I don't have time to argue. The Horde will be on us at any time."

"Fine," she said, stepping through the lock. "We can argue it while we get ready to fly."

Adrian followed her into the ship and caught up to her at the staircase to the cockpit. He grabbed her right elbow and spun her around. "Look. This is going to be more dangerous than anything we've done so far. I'd rather you stayed with the transport where-"

Teelana snapped, "Where what? Others can protect me? Don't you _dare_ start that. I am a Guardian just like you. We started this together and we will end it together." She darted up the steps without another word.

Adrian had never seen her so angry, or determined. "Okay," he called quietly after her. He returned to the air lock to close the hatches. Jake made one more attempt to twist Adrian's arm into letting him come along, but was rejected. The hatch closing in Jake's face put the plug on that. As Adrian returned to the cockpit, he thought about Teelana's fiery determination to continue the mission. Her whole attitude and the look on her face and in her eyes made Teelana more attractive to Adrian. That or maybe he was just going crazy. _I think I'm love_, he thought, grinning.

162


	21. Ch 18

Eighteen

Nebula N-3472

Near the Val-kyrie Border

As soon as the transport cleared the nebula, a narrow-beam message was fired off in the general direction of the Starship _Eternia_. Captain Majourny was almost certainly on her way as fast as the ship could travel without blowing up. Instead of jumping back into hyperspace, Colonel Markson ordered Corbin to proceed in normal space at top speed. Overshooting the _Eternia_ would not help them if the Horde destroyer called for assistance, which it most likely did the moment the transport appeared on their sensors.

The human liberators did have one advantage, though. The approaching horde ship had no idea the _Ladyhawke_ was sitting in the transport's hangar bay. The Horde had an idea of the little ship's firepower, but Adrian had not used any of the quantum torpedoes the Val-kyrie had armed it with. He had no real idea as to how powerful even one of the torpedoes was and the Val-kyrie were not sure, either. They had said only to be selective in choosing his targets. If even the miniature weapons works half as well as the Val-kyrie scientists believed, then mass production of full-sized weapons would begin immediately. Who knows, they might even share a few to arm the _Eternia_.

Teelana and Adrian strapped into their seats and ran the preflight checklists. There was no banter or cracking of jokes this time in the cockpit. Each knew that the coming battle would be intense and the focus had to be equally intense. Questions and answers were short and to the point as they ran down the list. When they completed the checks minutes later, there was nothing to do but wait.

To her surprise, Teelana found she disliked the waiting as much as Adrian outright hated it.

A chime for the comm system announced an incoming transmission. Colonel Markson's voice issued from the hidden speakers. "Just sent a message to Captain Majourny. If that Horde ship didn't know we were here, they do now. I have an idea on how we can take them by surprise. It's risky and unconventional, but it may work."

Adrian and Teelana exchanged knowing looks. "This whole mission as been an exercise in risky and unconventional," Adrian pointed out. "Let's stick with what we know."

"And because it annoys the hell out of any Horde commander who survives an encounter with us? All right. Here's what I have in mind." The colonel explained his thoughts in detail. Adrian listened intently, liking what he was hearing. It was a risky move, being that the transport would act as bait, but the element of surprise was definitely on their side. The destroyer would not suspect the little bounty hunter ship would be here. And even if that ship's captain did account for it, he had no idea just how much power was packed into such a small space frame.

Silence descended when the colonel finished pitching his plane. Adrian and Teelana eyed one another, but said nothing verbally. Suddenly, startling Teelana in the process, Adrian exclaimed, "I like this plan! I'm excited to be a part of it. Let's do it."

"Right," Markson replied, sounding dubious. "Be ready to launch in five minutes. Out." The connection closed.

"Never a dull moment with you," Teelana said with a slight smile.

"Hey, I like to keep things lively."

"Well, you are definitely lively. Almost to a fault. However, I think the safest place is near you." Teelana held up a hand to forestall Adrian's comment. "Yes, I have confidence in Colonel Markson and the others. I would not still be with Guardian Command if I had any doubts. I meant what I said about us finishing this together."

"Besides that fact that relations between you and He-man and She-ra are so frosty right now that spending a week in Siberia would feel like a heat wave," Adrian said matter-of-factly.

Teelana surprised him by saying, "Yes, there is that."

Adrian turned to look Teelana in the eye and said, "I'll always be there for you whenever you want. I mean that."

"I know," she whispered. "Let's just get through this first. We can deal with He-man and She-ra later."

Adrian nodded and turned back to the console in front of him.

The destroyer detected the encrypted transmission as soon as Colonel Markson ordered it sent. It didn't take long for the ship's robot crew to trace the source back to the stolen transport. Bat mech fighters launched from the hangar bay and formed a wedge in front of the destroyer. The normal compliment was twelve fighters, but Adrian's earlier attack reduced that number by three.

Captain Xarr watched the monitor carefully for any sign of a trap. The transport continued away from the nebula at full speed. Xarr snorted in disgust because it did not have the engine power to outrun his destroyer. He also wondered why the enemy didn't simply engage the hyperdrive. They were heading toward the Val-kyrie border so if was reasonable the enemy had help, probably already on the way.

It dawned on the captain suddenly that help could be closer than he thought. "Charge weapons! Activate shields. Dispatch the fighters to disable that ship. We have to take them now before their allies show up."

Troopers jumped to execute the captain's orders.

In moments, nine fighters broke formation and roared off after the transport. Red drive flares from their engines marked the fighters against the blackness of space, but only for a few brief moments before being swallowed up by the eternal night. They approached the target from behind in groups of three. Two groups peeled off to flank the transport while the third set up position directly behind. If the other groups drew laser fire, the third would open up on the engines and weapons.

The first two groups did indeed draw fire, though it was largely ineffectual. The transport was not equipped with the latest tracking systems the warships carried because usually slave transports were escorted. None of the offensive fire came close to even scorching paint as the wings sped by.

The third group primed their weapons to open fire. They never got the chance to strike. Red plasma bolts lanced out from seemingly out of nowhere to impact the rear of the lead fighter. Thin armor plate peeled apart exposing vulnerable fuel tanks. The bat mech disappeared in a fireball that was quickly snuffed out by the vacuum. The surviving fighters never had a chance to do more than register the danger before twin lines of plasma bolts swept across them. Two more fireballs and clouds of debris marked their passing.

Before the destroyer had a sensor lock on the transport, the _Ladyhawke_ had been maneuvered out of the hangar bay using only its attitude thrusters. Once it was safely away from the mother ship, Adrian shut down all systems to standby mode and waited using only passive sensors. _Ladyhawke_ quickly fell far behind as the transport continued its flight at full sub-light thrust. The effect gave them the prime position to get the jump on the enemy fighters without sending a stray burst into the transport's engines. Once they had the optimal position and range, Adrian and Teelana powered up the ship and locked onto the fighters in less than fifteen seconds. Five seconds after that, all three fighters were expanding debris clouds.

Distracted by the demise of their three companions, the remaining robot pilots failed to keep their surroundings in perspective. The defenders on the hijacked transport scored a hit on one fighter damaging it enough to force it to return to the destroyer. Concentrated laser fire from the gun mounts on the transport's starboard side locked on and finished it off.

_Ladyhawke_ flew down the port side after the trio starting to cut across the transport's bow. Adrian took the trailing fighter out with a brief burst from the plasma guns mounted in the _Ladyhawke_'s forward wind pods. The remaining pair broke formation and peeled off in opposite directions. It was a ruse designed to bring him into laser range of the pair of surviving bat mechs on the transport's starboard side.

Adrian pulled up hard on the control yoke barely getting out of the way in time are streams of laser bolts sizzled around the starship. Snapping the throttles back to their rearward stops and twisting the cargo ship around, Adrian got weapons lock on one of the attacking fighters and blew it out of existence. More laser fire erupted around the ship, much of it impacting the rear shields. They were an easy target because Adrian's maneuver had brought the ship to a near complete halt. Slamming the throttles forward, Adrian struggled to get out of range, or at least make it difficult for the enemy robots pilots to further deplete the _Ladyhawke_'s shields.

Ace brought the _Eternia_ out of hyperspace on the edge of the battlefield. They had arrived just in time to see the _Ladyhawke_ get caught in a crossfire only to slew around and blast one fighter into floating debris. The ship roared away from a dead stop pulling off some stomach churning maneuvers even Ace would have been hesitant to attempt.

"That guy's either a piloting genius or a certifiable waco," Ace commented. Another fighter exploded when the robot pilot veered the wrong way and drifted into the _Ladyhawke_'s gun sights.

"Adrian Cobretti and the Sorceress are flying that ship, Ace. Remember?" Captain Majourny said, impressed with the action thus far. She swiveled her chair to face Lieutenant Satori and tossed her a small data crystal. "Transmit that message and await a reply." Returning her attention to the battle pulled on the tactical screen displayed against the clear steel canopy, the captain ordered the ship to battle stations.

Torpedo ports opened along the sloped edge of the bow, railguns warmed up, and panels on the dorsal and ventral surfaces in the middle of the hull parted so the quad guns could extend into position. The gunners immediately began tracking the remaining four fighters as the _Ladyhawke_ tried to draw them into position for a kill. Quad guns opened up when they had a lock and each blew a fighter into expanding gas clouds. Now there two of the original nine to contend with.

"Harley, get me a firing solution on that destroyer," Captain Majourny ordered.

"I can't. That other ship is in the way. It's on a collision course," Lieutenant Denton reported, disbelief evident in his voice.

"What's Adrian doing? Trying to commit suicide?" Ace rambled.

"Get them on comms," Jo-Jo said tightly to Satori.

The lieutenant shook her head in frustration. "They're not acknowledging."

Anti-aircraft fire opened up on them as Adrian continued his power dive straight at the enemy warship. Exploding plasma globes caused the ship to buck and shake violently.

"Wonderful idea you had there, Tee," Adrian growled, struggling with the bucking control yoke. "Weapons aren't doing jack against their shields."

"Stop firing for a moment. What's all this exploding around us, anyway?"

"Anti-aircraft fire," Adrian answered, grudgingly ceasing fire.

"We're in space," Teelana said smoothly, fingers working a console in front of her, on the side panel to her right, and she even flipped a few switches on the overhead panel.

"Okay, anti-_space_craft fire," Adrian retorted. "What about my guns?"

"Now!"

Adrian mashed the firing studs in the tops of the control yoke arms. Red plasma bolts lashed out at the enemy, only they were no longer red. They were green. Adrian also noticed his volley was penetrating the destroyer's shields as if they weren't there.

"What the hell?"

Teelana continued working various control panels. "Later. Fly straight through."  
"_What?_"

Teelana turned a pleading gaze upon him. "_Trust me_," she said as gently as she could manage under the circumstances.

Shaking his head, Adrian pressed on. He raked plasma fire across any laser gun mount he could even vaguely identify as the distance closed at a frightening rate. Incoming fire slackened a bit as a result of Adrian's direct hits on the destroyer's starboard side. He narrowed his eyes in anticipation of an existence-ending impact and explosion. What he got instead was a slight bump and their shields contacted and the _Ladyhawke_ blasted on through. Adrian almost plowed into the destroyer's armored hull in shock.

Recovering quickly, he rotated the ship so that he was skimming the enemy ship's hull. He continued to pour plasma fire into any protruding structures in his path. Boiling explosions marked his wake are he sped down the enemy's length unabated. Within seconds, _Ladyhawke_ slammed through the destroyer's aft shields and away in the only blind spot a warship had where weapons could not effectively defend.

"Torpedoes ready," Teelana replied, and odd flat tone in her voice.

Maintaining momentum, Adrian chopped the throttles back and flipped and rotated the ship so that they were travelling backward while still on a horizontal plane to the enemy. He caressed the triggers under his pointer fingers firing a quantum torpedo from each of the two launchers. Teelana touched a control to darken the canopy windows against the glare she knew was coming.

Like the plasma weapons and the _Ladyhawke_ itself, the miniature torpedoes plowed through the destroyer's shields as if they didn't exist. The weapons homed in on the exhaust cones for the main engines and sped inside until they struck the engines. The initial detonations were spectacular for something their size, but the cascade of energy caused secondary explosions that traveled back up the length of the warship in seconds. Armor plates, mangled support structures, and other odd bits of debris blasted away in all directions as the bulk of the shattered hulk 'sank' in freefall.

"Well, that was…" Adrian struggled for the proper word.

Teelana supplied, "Fun?"

"No, not quite. I was thinking more like intense."

The comm system beeped for attention. "Captain Majourny again. I guess we don't have an excuse to ignore her this time," Teelana sighed. There was a whimsical note to her voice when she said that.

A screen materialized over the console forward of the throttle quadrant. Captain Majourny's tense expression stared back at them.

"Are you two trying to put me and my crew out of a job?" she demanded.

"Captain!" Adrian said jovially. "We're fine, thanks. How are you?"

"Are there anymore bad guys around that we need to know about?" the captain asked, glancing at the status board on the right arm of her chair.

"Not right now, but we expect more company before too long," Adrian said. He made a few minor adjustments to his ship's orientation to the other ships, but made no attempt to approach.

Jo-jo turned to Lieutenant Satori. "Any response?"

Satori nodded. "It just arrived. It's a text message. One word. Imminent."

Jo-jo nodded. "Company is on the way, Adrian, so you might want to keep your distance."

"Roger. We'll cruise the area and keep an eye out for Horde ships," Adrian said. He closed the connection and throttled up the engines while Teelana plotted and patrol pattern.

"Contact Colonel Markson and tell him to get ready to abandon the transport," captain Majourny ordered. "Harley, keep and eye out for inbound ships."

They didn't have long to wait. Three hyperspace disturbances appeared on Lieutenant Denton's sensor panel at the same moment the _Ladyhawke_ called in the contact. Ace had positioned the _Eternia_ about five-thousand meters of the transport's bow where Colonel Markson's crew could see them. The hyperspace contact was over one-hundred kilometers off the transport's starboard bow. Nothing appeared visually and wouldn't until the lightning storm created by hyperdrive engines manifested. The expected storm and gas cloud formed larger than anything Jo-jo had ever seen. What emerged into normal space shocked everyone.

Three Val-kyrie battlestars jumped smoothly into normal space in formation. No weapons were activated, but no one looking at the giant battlecruisers would miss the twin barrels protruding from the forward end of the landing bays on the sides of the main space frame. Two more barrels were set on the each sloped side of the wedge-shaped bow with two more under the bow section for a total of eight primary guns. Just looking at them, Jo-jo could well understand why no Horde vessel has yet survived and engagement with even one of those ships; or so the rumor went.

It was also rumored that no more than one _Battlestar_-class warship was ever seen at any one place at any one time. Yet, here were _three_ in one place!

"Incoming transmission," Satori reported. "It's Commander Fontaine of the Battlestar _Logoss_."

The viewing screen projected in front of the clearsteel canopy changed scenes from that of the slave transport parked in front of the _Eternia_ to a shot of the commander of the _Logoss_.

The beautiful woman on the screen appeared to be about Jo-jo's age, maybe a few years older. If Anyssa was anything to judge the warrior race by, Commander Fontaine could be at least a decade older and not show it.

"Greetings, Captain Majourny. Time is short, so we can't engage in pleasantries. We are preparing to launch shuttles to start evacuating the transport," Commander Fontaine said. "Our sensor net indicates that several Horde warships may change course in this direction at any moment."

"Agreed. I'll have my people begin the preparations. There is one hangar bay, but there are several airlocks that can be used," Jo-jo said. Remembering what Colonel Markson said about Adrian's hunch, she added, "One of my people has reason to believe General Rongar has been trailing the mission since the landing on the planet Wayfarer."

The commander glanced briefly to someone off screen, nodded, and returned her attention to Captain Majourny. "One of the ships in the area appears to be the _Hoscar_. Seems that ship has been in a hurry for over a day, now."

One Jo-jo's left-hand command panel, sensors displayed shuttles beginning to deploy from the battlestar's landing bays. Jo-jo contacted Colonel Markson and told him to prepare for arrivals. She quickly outlined the plan and let him go about supervising the evacuation.

"What will we do if any Horde vessels show up? Adrian's ship is powerful, but it can't handle more than a destroyer, I think," Captain Majourny said.

"I will be dispatching the other two battlestars in decoy pattern. We will take on your ship and the freed prisoners and withdraw to our space. If the Horde should be foolish enough to follow, we will destroy them," Commander Fontaine declared. "I should like to see the results from Adrian Cobretti's battle. We equipped that ship with certain experimental weapons and systems for him to try out if the situation arose." She continued before Jo-jo could lodge an objection. "He was fully briefed on the modifications by Anyssa and was told it would be his option whether or not to use the systems."

"I see. Well, we will accept your offer for a landing space only after the transport has been evacuated. If any Horde ships arrive, we will do what we can to assist," Jo-jo proposed. She knew her ship couldn't take out a Horde ship bigger than a cruiser, but the quad guns were excellent for neutralizing enemy fighters.

It was agreed. _Logoss_ moved in a close at possible and wheeled about to shorten the transit distance for the shuttles. Ace backed away from the transport and joined the _Ladyhawke_ in patrolling the area. The remaining battlestars moved off in different directions, issued noisy comm chatter that the Horde would be sure to intercept, and then both ships jumped into hyperspace.

Adrian was surprised when Commander Fontaine called him directly. "Commander, it's good to see you."

"Especially since you aren't shooting at us," Teelana added.

The commander cracked a slight smile. "I'm sure that you can appreciate that a certain amount of realism had been required at the time, Sorceress. We have the technology to direct the force of the impacts to make it look real enough. Now, did you have a chance to use any of the weapons? How did the weapons perform?"

"There is a cloud of wreckage that used to be a Horde destroyer," Adrian said. "Two of those torpedoes up the engine exhaust were all it took." He nodded to Teelana, who transmitted a data burst to the _Logoss_. "That should keep your scientists busy for a while."

Commander Fontaine nodded. "We can clear you to land in our Alpha landing bay," she said, knowing what Adrian was likely to say already.

"No thanks. We'll stay out here just a little longer. The mission isn't complete until those people are safe," Adrian replied. _Even if a few of them don't appreciate it_, he added to himself. "Who knows? I might get a chance to try out those torpedoes again."

"Very well, but take any unnecessary chances. We will have to move quickly if the Horde ships we detected converge on our location."

"Roger that," Adrian said, closing the channel. All they could do now was hope that their luck holds out long enough to complete the transfer. _Yeah, right. Like God is going to go easy us now._

"Colonel Markson, shuttles are inbound. Prepare to evacuate the transport. Acknowledge," Captain Majourny requested.

The colonel keyed the walkie-talkie on his shoulder that was tied in to the channel to the _Eternia_. "Acknowledged. Takamora! Apone! We have friendlies on the way. Get that hangar bay door open. Someone go tell He-man to get his people ready to move." He took one last look out the bridge view port before leaving the bridge.

He found Apone directing the efforts in and around the hangar as two Val-kyrie shuttles lined up on final approach to dock. The first shuttle drifted through the force field, turned around to point out the way it came in, drifted sideways to clear the way for its companion, and settled to the deck on stubby landing struts fixed to the hull. The second ship approached and performed the same maneuver as the first. The third shuttle locked onto the airlock port ten meters further forward of the hangar bay.

The ramps at the back of both shuttles lowered almost simultaneously, disgorging a squad of Val-kyrie warriors from each ship. All were strikingly beautiful, dressed in armor that was function, but left much bare to varying degrees depending on the people's preference, and all were likely heavily armed. With the exception of the tall brunette who approached Colonel Markson and Sergeant Apone, every one of the warriors carried a case approximately twelve inches square.

"Where is your leader?" the warrior asked. She had the loveliest tone of voice despite her commanding demeanor.

"Colonel Markson at your service," Jon announced. "This is Sergeant Apone." The sergeant nodded.

"Major Noin," the warrior introduced herself. "Are you prepared to evacuate this ship?"

"We are gathering them up as we speak. My people will make sure there isn't a stampede to the shuttles," Markson replied. Out of the corner of his eye, Jon spotted the orderly filing of people into the bay from the slave pens. He knew there was a similar scene in the airlock corridor.

"Good," Noin replied. "My people will be setting charges to scuttle this ship as soon as the last shuttle is clear. If you will oversee the evacuation, I will see to the ship. Also, if there is anyone else on the not in the immediate vicinity of the hangar, call them back."

Markson nodded and keyed his walkie-talkie. "Jackson, you still in the engineering spaces?"

"Yes, sir," the young man's voice crackled from the speaker.

"There are some Val-Kyrie on their way down there to rig the ship. Your job is done. You, Wardman, and the rest come back up to the hangar bay and assist with the evac."

"Roger that. We're on our way."

Noin nodded her thanks and joined her people. The shuttle pilots were supervising the loading of people on the ships while the Earth people maintained order. Everything seemed to be going fine so far. As the first shuttles left, people milled about waiting for the next shuttle to dock for loading.

"Anything that we can't absolutely live without comes with us. Everything else stays to blow up with the ship," Colonel Markson said to Apone.

"No problem. I had the essential equipment set aside in the corner of the hangar," Apone said with a toothy grin. He gestured to the small stack of cases in the near corner.

"Mind reader," Markson said sourly.

"Working for you one sometimes has to be."

_Ladyhawke_ continued its patrol looking for Horde ships. Although nothing showed up on long range scans, Adrian was certain General Rongar was closing in on them. He couldn't explain how he knew it, he just did. Teelana did not dispute her companion's feeling. She'd had the same feeling that someone had been pursuing them for some time. It was not that much a leap in logic to assume General Rongar would be in this sector of space. It was near his fleet's area of responsibility according to Val-kyrie intelligence.

So it was only a matter of time until the Horde caught up. Hopefully, they would all be away long before then.

Adrian leaned back as the autopilot continued the planned patrol route. "So what did you do to alter the weapons?"

"Falcon discovered this ship was equipped with an anti-proton generator. It seems Cirandar, Falcon's previous operator, was something of a scientist. It was easy for Falcon to talk me through charging the weapons and shields with anti-protons," Teelana explained. She did not understand even a tenth of the alterations Falcon had talked her through, but she was glad they worked.

Adrian stared at her critically. "That's a bit out of character for you. Providing me with the means to destroy that ship is not in keeping with your ideals, is it?"

"I merely gave you the tools," Teelana countered. "How you use them were up to you."

"Convenient."

"Very," she agreed with a slight smile. "In a life or death situation the choice was pretty clear. I have no more wish to die a second time than you do a first."

Adrian thought about that for a moment. Her reasoning was sound, but the way she said made him wonder once again if her time on Earth wasn't being more of a bad influence than he suspected. On the other hand, it was probably better than the way she was being cooped up in the castle day after day.

"I'm not sure how to respond to that," Adrian finally said.

The operation went smoother than excepted, which just made everyone involved wondering when the dung was going to hit the fan. Shuttles continued to dock with the transport and left minutes later with a full load of people. Twenty minutes into the ferrying operation, more than half of the rescued people were safely on board the _Logoss_ in the starboard landing bay. Medical teams examined the people on the spot before they were transferred elsewhere within the great ship.

The decoy operation had mixed results. Some of the patrol Horde ships took the bait and followed while others stayed in their assigned sectors. There were several ships continuing to patrol ever closer to the nebula. It wouldn't take long to get a detailed scan of the area and discover a collection of ships where there shouldn't be any.

Colonel Markson's people continued to load people onto the shuttles with Major Noin's warriors. He-man and She-ra stubbornly refused to leave until everyone else was safely away. Eventually, the population of the transport dwindled until only the military people, He-man, She-ra, and the Guardians remained.

Charlie platoon boarded the shuttle at the airlock while the remaining personnel scrambled on board the two in the hangar bay. What little equipment they would not leave behind was secured in the back of the nearest shuttle. The pilot's made sure everyone was seated and strapped in for the short trip while a warrior closed the loading ramp.

The pilots returned to their cockpits, strapped in, and fired up the engines. Thrusters pushed the craft through the force field. Once clear, the main engines fired and propelled the ships away toward the waiting _Logoss_. Each one entered the landing pattern for the port side landing bay and executed a perfect landing about a minute apart.

_Eternia_ followed the shuttles after making one last circuit of the area. The quad guns were retracted back into the hull and the landing gear struts were extended. The battlestar's core command issued instructions for Ace on how to shoot the approach, since it was his first time. The opening to the bay was wide, but the height was narrow. There was plenty of room for the ship, but miscalculating on approach had taken the life of many pilots even in small fighter craft.

Ace glided smoothly into the bay following the lines of flashing lights not unlike what a pilot would see on Earth approaching an airport runway. He never noticed passing through the atmospheric shield, but he did make a smooth rolling landing one-third of the way along the bay. Reverse thrusters flared brining the ship to a halt a few yards from the three shuttles that had preceded them.

"Well, done, Ace," Jo-jo said. "Power down all stations. Get Colonel Markson and his people back on board as soon as possible. No one leaves the ship for the moment. I'm going to meet with Commander Fontaine. Lieutenant Denton, the ship is yours until I return." She got up from the command chair and made her way to the hatch at the back of the bridge.

"Aye, captain. Should we expect the _Ladyhawke_ to be arriving, as well?" Lieutenant Denton asked.

Jo-jo hesitated. "I'm not sure. Those two have been on their own throughout this mission. They may follow along with us, though I can't imagine why. I wouldn't worry about Adrian or the Sorceress." She left the bridge without further comment.

A warrior was waiting for Jo-jo at the bottom of the ramp. She called herself Major Noin, and that she had been sent to escort Jo-jo to the bridge.

The trip was not long despite the size of the battlestar. A list took them from the landing deck up into the central service support strut. From there, they had to take several brisk tube rides and another elevator ride before arriving at the central corridor running the length of the ship. The bridge was about one-quarter of the way up the sloped surface of the bow and was only two levels up relative to the flight deck. Noin explained that there had been another route to use, but it took more time without as many tube rides. The central corridor would take you anywhere in the ship that you wanted to go, Noin had explained. She pointed out maps in key locations in the event one became lost. Noin admitted to getting turned around more than once when she was first assigned to one of the great ships. It happened to every crewmember at least once whether they admitted to it or not.

Jo-jo marveled at the size of the corridors. People could pass by one another comfortably even in the smallest passages. The central corridor was truly massive in areas to allow for the transfer of equipment and supplies about the ship. It narrowed to personnel size as the pair approached the bridge.

The bridge was approximately the size of _Eternia_'s drop bay. The _entire_ bay, ammunition storage bays, and locker room all rolled up into one massive unit. The layout was in tiers with what appeared to be science stations along the parameter. A platform ran the circumference the bridge allowing access to all areas as well as three exits. The core area consisted of a twin pilot station two meters back from the main viewing port, a 'pit' area to the left and right of the pilot's station, and a dais in the center with the commander and executive officer area.

The bridge bustled with activity as warriors moved about on errands. Noin guided Captain Majourny to the stairway down into the pit area, across to the command dais, and up another stairway to the platform. From here, Jo-jo noticed the large, clear rectangular space map similar to that used at Guardian Command. She did not recognize any of the stars, but guessed it was a map of the local space.

"Commander Fontaine, I have brought Captain Majourny as requested," Major Noin announced.

Commander Fontaine swiveled her chair around to face the pair as Colonel Darius looked up from her boards. "Thank you, major. You are dismissed. Welcome aboard the _Logoss_, captain. May I present my executive officer, Colonel Darius? She is a first officer in your rank structure, I think." Jo-jo nodded. "We will be departing the area shortly. May I ask why the _Ladyhawke_ refuses to land in one of our bays?"

"I was not aware they were refusing to land. They may be planning to follow us in hyperspace," Jo-jo said neutrally.

One of the techs manning the sensor station suddenly spoke up. "Commander! New contacts just rounding the nebula. Classification appears to be bat mech fighters. Approximately twelve on an intercept course."

"Any sign of the mothership?" Commander Fontaine queried.

After moment, the tech responded, "Negative. It could still be hidden by the nebula or inside it."

Fontaine turned to Colonel Darius. "Any chance of our intercepting them?"

"None. Even if we launch fighters, we'll still lose time getting them back on board to jump out if even a few Horde ships show up," Darius answered grimly.

The sensor tech reported again. "Commander, the _Ladyhawke_ is moving to intercept the approaching fighters. They say they have caught glimpses of what may be a Horde carrier within the nebula."

"We've just run out of time," Fontaine said. "Send a coded message to the _Ladyhawke_. Give them rendezvous coordinates at our border. They are to break off as soon as possible and meet us at those coordinates. And tell them…good hunting."

"I thought you were going to order them back, for a moment," Jo-jo commented.

"I was, but I figured Adrian Cobretti would ignore such an order." Fontaine invited Jo-jo to have a look at the status board on left arm of her chair. The status boards on the chair arms were similar in function to those on the _Eternia_. "Several of those approaching ships are bigger than normal for a bat mech fighter." At Jo-jo's confused look, Fontaine added, "That's what the Horde calls them. Anyway, several appear to be bombers, which can do significant damage to us if they hit the right spot. Normally, I would launch our own fighters to deal with them while turning to engage the mothership, which is likely a carrier, but that isn't our mission."

"And more ships are likely on their way even now," Jo-jo said.

"Precisely. Adrian and the Sorceress are giving us time to get away before that carrier gets a positive identification on us, though they will know who and what we are by the hyperspace footprint we'll leave once we jump," Commander Fontaine explained.

"There's nothing we can do?" Jo-jo implored.

"If you are thinking of launching your ship to assist, I would advise against it. Adrian's ship is fast, maneuverable, and power. He can break away and meet up with us later," the commander replied. Jo-jo got the impression the commander would rather turn around and engage whatever Horde ships showed up in the next hour or two, but they all had their orders. There were larger considerations, and the many of the freed prisoners had to reach safety.

Looked up to the main view port, Jo-jo thought, _Good hunting, Adrian. Don't you and the Sorceress go getting dead._

173


	22. Ch 19

Nineteen

Starship _Ladyhawke_

Nebula N-3472

Near the Val-kyrie Border

Teelana's sensor board lit up when the bat mech fighters rounded the nebula cloud. Twelve of them in groups of three spread out and moved into an attack pattern. An intermittent target kept appearing on the sensor display somewhere near the edge of the cloud.

"That's all we need right now," Adrian grumbled, throwing the engine throttles to the firewall.

"Karma strikes again," Teelana commented, engaging the weapon modifications Falcon had talked her through earlier.

"Admit it. Your life is a lot more interesting living with us than being back in that musty, old castle," Adrian teased, throwing the ship into an evasive pattern as he moved to engage the Horde fighters.

Teelana frowned, "Castle Grayskull is old, but hardly musty. Well, a few chambers are, but not the whole castle."

"Focus," Adrian chided. "Send a message to the _Logoss_ that we'll handle the fighters while they jump out. We'll follow as soon as they are away."

Teelana sent the message as Adrian lined up on the first fighter. Twin streams of green plasma bolts ripped into the fighter's engines and blew it to atoms. Two more fighters erupted into boiling fireballs before the remaining ships wisely changed tactics. Adrian caught sight of something metallic moving around just inside the nebula boundary.

The sensors finally got a clear enough lock on the enemy ship just long enough to identify it as a Horde aircraft carrier. More fighters were launching from it in their direction.

"They have sent us coordinates to meet them at along the Val-kyrie border. They are jumping…now!" Teelana reported.

The _Logoss_ turned slightly to port as the hyperdrive engines opened a rift into hyperspace, and sped away to safety. Less than a minute after the battlestar disappeared, the transport exploded in a fiery ball of expanding gases. All that was left now was for Adrian to fight his way out of the furball with the Horde fighters and jump away to safety.

It wasn't easy. With reinforcements boiling out of the nebula followed closely by the carrier, the escape route to the Val-kyrie was rapidly being closed off. If he turned back into the nebula, they might be able to hide for a while, but more Horde ships were likely to show up. There was only one clear direction to egress from the battle.

Bat mechs started finding the range and landed more hits on the shields than misses. A clear sign it was time to go. Adrian destroyed another fighter while sprinting for the thickest part of the nebula. The carrier moved out into open space while the fighters continued their pursuit.

"I have a fix on a system with a habitable planet about ten light minutes away. If you can ditch our friends long enough, we can jump into hyperspace and get away before they realize we have left," Teelana said, programming the coordinates.

"What do you mean _if_, featherhead? They're not gonna catch us," Adrian declared.

His maneuvers brought the ship in close to the nebula and he made a dive for the thick, swirling clouds. Proximity explosions rattled the ship, but did no damage. The effect seemed to contradict Adrian's bold declaration.

"And how do you figure that?"

"We're on a mission from God," Adrian grinned.

Teelana rolled her eyes. "How long have you been waiting to use that line?"

Adrian's reply was cut off by more proximity explosions that buffeted the ship around. So much for the dense mass of gases giving them a brief respite from the fighters. He followed the course Teelana programmed into the computer and threw the throttles to the firewall. Colored gases swirled by outside as Adrian held his course.

"Picking up coded Horde traffic," Teelana said. She tried to pull the signals in, but couldn't get a lock on them. "Looks like another ship has arrived, if I'm reading this correctly."

"Anyone we know?" Adrian asked, executing another gut-wrenching maneuver.

"Guess," Teelana answered tensely.

Adrian momentarily looked shocked. "You mean I was right?"

"I don't know for sure since I can't break the Horde codes, but it's clear another big ship is out there." Teelana's voice took on a nervous edge.

"Who cares," Adrian declared. They were emerging from the nebula. "We're out of here."

Course set and the way ahead was clear, so Adrian pulled the levels activating the hyperdrive. _Ladyhawke_ seemed to elongate as it shot into the heart of the forming energy cloud and disappeared in a brief flash of light.

The Horde carrier emerged from the nebula and took up station near the remains of the destroyer that had called for help before being destroyed. Scans picked up the hyperspace footprint of a big ship that had recently left the area. While the computers analyzed the data, the ship's captain dispatched all his fighters while recalling the bombers. With the transport reduced to a spreading cloud of ionized dust, the bombers were not fast enough to catch up to the small, fast ship that was destroying his command one fighter at a time.

The bat mechs followed when the enemy ship disappeared into the nebula again. The captain order his gunner to fire proximity bursts hoping for a lucky hit. So far, the tactic had been less than a total failure.

Another ship, the fleet commander's, emerged from hyperspace thousands of kilometers from the carrier. The battleship decelerated to one-quarter sub-light speed. The carrier captain reported the status of the current situation and asked for further orders.

General Rongar was fuming inside as he took in the conversation between Captain Dragnar and the carrier captain. He seethed because it had taken so long to find the egress point from the Hel solar system. Now, they had arrived too late to stop the enemy.

Captain Dragnar ended his conversation with the carrier captain and swiveled his chair to face the general. "Confirmed; one small starship matching the description of the ship that blasted its way off Wayfarer." Dragnar rose from his chair and approached the holo-projection table at the back of the bridge. He transferred the data from the carrier to the table and called up the local space. Three glowing points near the nebula marked pertinent locations. "These three locations on the right mark the positions of the dust cloud that used to be the transport, a debris field whose size corresponds to that of a destroyer, and the third is a hyperspace footprint."

Rongar joined the captain at the table and took in each point in turn. "They blew up the transport after transferring the prisoners to another ship. Presumably, this took place after the destruction of the destroyer."

"That appears to be the case. The destroyer managed to transmit a signal before being destroyed. The hyperspace footprint matches what we have on file for a large warship," Dragnar went on. "A Val-kyrie battlestar."

Rongar pointed to a fourth glowing point on the side of the nebula forty-five degrees from the area of conflict. "What's the fourth point?"

"That is the last known position of the ship from Wayfarer. Fighters from the carrier observed it jumping into hyperspace," the captain said.

"So they blew up a destroyer, transferred the people to a battlestar, and then jumped out," Rongar said to himself. "Why stay behind?"

"Sir?"

"The bounty hunter ship," the general elaborated. "That's what it is. I just don't understand why it stayed behind."

Dragnar shrugged. "Maybe there wasn't time to dock with the battlestar."

"Maybe, but I doubt it. More likely they are trying to draw us away," Rongar mused.

"As if we would really follow a battlestar into Val-kyrie space and engage it," the captain sighed.

"That little ship is piloted by two Guardians," Rongar said. "Compared to recapturing He-man and the others, even one Guardian is the greater prize."

"We're going after them, then?"

Rongar nodded. "I want those two alive. What is the trajectory?"

The captain tapped out a few commands on the table's control panel. The holographic display shifted and changed. The nebula fell away into a wider display of the area. The computer identified a nearby solar system a few light-minutes away.

"Most likely course it to this system. There is one habitable planet, but it has not been colonized. This sector was purposely left uncolonized to make it near impossible for anyone to attempt to get a foothold behind our lines," the captain explained. He touched another control. Two red dots popped up on the edge of the system. "It appears that a pair of battlecruisers has finished scanning the system for the missing transport."

"Contact them and tell them to stop the search. The transport has been found. Tell them to re-enter the system and to conceal themselves near the habitable planet. They are to lay in wait for the bounty hunter ship to arrive. Once it shows up, they are to attack, but only to disable it. I want those guardians alive. If they exceed their orders, I will personally fire the shots to destroy their ships with all aboard," General Rongar ordered.

Captain Dragnar issued that the order be relayed to the battlecruisers. As the trooper manning the communications station bent to its task, he ordered the helm to set course for the system. His also contacted the carrier and ordered its captain to recall all fighters in space and to follow them to the system.

"All this just to capture two Guardians?" Dragnar asked General Rongar. "Are you this isn't – what do those Earth people call it? – overkill?"

Rongar shook his head. "No. All six of those Guardians together are a nightmare as we saw at the Battle for Castle Grayskull. Those two are likely to be just as bad, if our source in Guardian Command can be believed about their capabilities." He milled the resources available to him over in his mind. "No, captain. If anything, what we have available will not be enough."

_Ladyhawke_ sped through hyperspace on its way to sanctuary. Adrian's hope was to lay low for a while until the Horde search moved into other areas. Once the way was clear, he planned to make a run for Val-kyrie space.

"Nothing about the planet in the database?" Adrian asked yet again.

Teelana stifled her annoyance. She knew all too well that they would be dropping back into normal space within the next few minutes. She could find nothing about the system other than it contained a habitable planet that could support humanoid life. Beyond that there was no data. No one had ventured into this sector of space to colonize it.

"Nothing. It's as if no one had any interest in forming colonies in this area," Teelana said, finally giving up her search. "Do we land, or shall I look for another system further along this heading?"

Adrian had been considering that even since they left the nebula. The ship had a full charge so power wasn't an issue. The ship was also equipped with replicators to provide food and water, though they used it sparingly because of power consumption in the early part of the mission. Now they could be more liberal with it.

"No. They will catch on to where we're going so the sooner we land and hide, the better off we'll be," Adrian said.

The counter ticked down to zero and Adrian pushed the hyperdrive levers forward. The ship darted out of an energy cloud and back into normal space. Sensors picked out the target world easily enough. It orbited the primary at an approximate distance of somewhere between the orbit of Mars and Earth. There were only seven planets total ranging from a lava planet close to the primary, to several gas and barren planets, and one frozen outer world.

_Ladyhawke_ exited hyperspace just inside the orbit of the fourth planet; a barren world. Adrian followed Teelana's course plot to the target planet and set the engines to full power. There were no Horde installations, satellites, starbases, or even a planetary garrison that could be detected. As far as they knew from Val-kyrie intelligence, the Horde did not possess any kind of cloaking technology, nor were there any warships prowling the system.

"Looks clear for the moment," Teelana reported, eyes glued to the sensor displays. Her hands unconsciously dropped from the console to tug at the safety belts once again. It was a recent nervous habit born of the near insane maneuvers from the pitch battle against the fighters.

Bat mech fighters were a bit slow and lumbering in an atmosphere, although they performed excellently against anything Earth currently had in use. In space, however, bat mechs proved to be a nightmare to chase down unless one had a ship every bit as capable. _Ladyhawke_ and _Eternia_ were two such starships, but Earth scientists were working on adapting older F-22 technology with systems reverse engineered from the _Eternia_. The F-22 proved to be the best match as a platform to build upon because its capabilities were rumored to outstrip human endurance.

At full burn, no Horde fighter could catch them, and intercepting would have to be done in intersecting courses. The hairs on the back of Adrian's neck began to prickle the closer they got to the planet. Something did not feel right about this. The enemy certainly knew where they were headed. So where were they? Horde ships were combing the area for the stolen transport so it was reasonable to presume one or two would be around.

"You sure there is no one else lurking about?" Adrian asked. His feeling was getting more pronounced by the moment.

Teelana ran the scans again, but came up with the same result. "Nothing. Are you getting one of your 'feelings' again?"

"I don't like this. Something isn't right," Adrian said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, good. For a moment I was afraid I was the only one in this cockpit starting to get paranoid."

"After all this time among us you're just now starting to get paranoid?" Adrian teased. He was scanning the displays in front of him so he didn't see Teelana's unladylike gesture of sticking her tongue out at him. "With all the Horde ships combing this area for us, there should have been at least one ship here."

Teelana frowned. "Does the Horde have some kind of cloaking technology?"

"Not according to Anyssa." Adrian glanced her way and noted her raised eyebrow. "First question I asked."

_Ladyhawke_ continued to approach the habitable planet without incident. No ships were within scanning range, nor were any bases detected. With General Rongar breathing down their necks, a lack of ships was the last thing Adrian expected. Yet, there was a blue-white planet lush with vegetation and probable animal life looming before him. It appeared to be untouched by human or alien hands. Adrian thought this is what earth must have looked like before the Industrial Age began. If it wasn't for the secret war against the Horde Empire, Adrian could see himself retiring to here, build a house next to lake, and go fishing ever day. He'd likely have Colonel Markson as a neighbor doing the exact same thing.

Teelana sat up a little straighter despite the tight safety belts. The sensor panel chimed at her for attention. "I've got something."

"And the other boot finally drops," Adrian grumbled.

"Try both thrown at once," Teelana said, transferring the scanner data to the primary display centered forward of the control consoles.

Two starships were rounding the planet's small moon on a direct heading for the _Ladyhawke_. Adrian realized what had happened. They must have powered down to avoid detection just like he had done to escape the Horde pursuit when they blasted their way off Wayfarer. A probe in orbit of the moon would have provided all the warning they would need. The fact that they lay in wait was confirmation that someone was after them.

"They pulled our maneuver from a few days ago," Adrian said, impressed.

"Who says machines can't improvise?" Teelana added. She pulled up data on the type and class of ships they were facing. "Battlecruises. Looks to be standard types. No modifications."

"That we know of," Adrian said. He thought furiously about his options.

The quantum torpedoes would likely do significant damage to the battlecruises. He might even destroy one or both of them if he could fire them into the engine thrusters the way he did to the destroyer. The problem was what damage the _Ladyhawke_ was likely to sustain in the attack run. While the ship was somewhat overpowered for its size, and had powerful weapons, it still wouldn't be able to take much punishment. A few direct hits at best would be all, and Adrian wanted to avoid even that.

The battlecruises rounded the moon one hundred and eighty degrees apart from one another. The warships closed their formation as they approached just outside of the planet's gravity well. Their captains appeared to be pushing for maximum speed to close off the _Ladyhawke_. Sensors detected active weapons and shields, but magnetic systems were also in operation. Adrian guessed it was a Horde version of a tractor beam, which confirmed that their orders were to capture instead of kill. He had to use that to his advantage, but how?

The ships were keeping to a distance of ten thousand meters from each other as the soared in. In terms of capital ship combat, that was close formation, however, that left a big opening to blast between them where they would be reluctant to fire for risk of hitting each other.

As in aerial combat, speed was life in space combat, and the _Ladyhawke_ had speed in spades. That gave Adrian the advantage. Teelana sensed he was about to take action and powered up the weapon modifications they had used earlier.

"So what is the plan?" Teelana asked, not really sure she wanted to know.

"Well, a frontal assault is usually out of the question in a situation like this. They will likely expect us to peel off at the last moment and make a run for some egress point from the system," Adrian explained, right hand hovering over the throttles.

"So you plan to fly right down their throats instead?" Teelana surmised. "That's your plan?"

"Give me a better idea."

Teelana shook her head. "I don't have one."

Adrian looked her in the eye. "You up for this? It's insane. It's crazy. Might get us killed. Well, a second time for you."

"If at first you don't succeed, or so your people say," Teelana replied, cracking a half-hearted smile. "Your unpredictability has kept us alive so far. Be a shame to change now."

Grinning, Adrian slammed the throttles to the forward stops, squeezed the recessed button in the control grip and pushed the throttles up another six inches. The afterburners roared to life pouring on the speed. He couldn't keep the burners engaged for more than four minutes before the engines would overheat. The closure rate between them and the Horde ships was such that he wouldn't have to worry about it.

Anti-aircraft fire lit up the night as shockwaves pounded on the shields. Teelana threw all available power to the forward shields. Several direct hits were blunted by the increased strength, but the impacts rattled the ship violently. The Horde commanders were definitely holding back as the main laser batteries and torpedo launchers remained silent. They maintained their distance from one another confident that Adrian would change course at the last minute. Magnetic grappler projectors warmed up in preparation for the capture.

Five seconds from the merge, Adrian pressed the firing studs in the tops of the control yoke arms. He unleashed a storm of green plasma bolts at the enemy. Slight adjustments to the control yoke allowed him to rake offensive fire back and forth across both ships.

The bolts ripped through the Horde shields as if they weren't even there. Explosions peppered the thick bow armor leaving smoking craters and minimal damage in their wake. Adrian wasn't trying to hit any vital systems yet. He was just trying to get the ship commanders mad enough to violate their standing orders. The afterburners were cut off approximately at the point the bounty hunter ship reached the merge. Unfortunately, _Ladyhawke_ passed unmolested down the throat between the warships, so it was time to go with Adrian's backup plan.

Adrian ordered Teelana to de-synchronize the torpedo launchers so that they wouldn't fire off in unison, and squeezed the triggers under his pointer fingers. The port launcher was locked on to the warship on that side while the starboard launcher fired on the other. Quantum torpedoes punched out every two seconds and flashed through useless shielding. Armor boiled, melted and exploded out in jets of flaming debris and the warheads punched through thick metal and ripped apart vulnerable systems.

Passing behind the enemy ships, Teelana threw all power to the rear shields as Adrian continued to punch out torpedoes. There was no sense in saving them for later, so he decided to use them all. The targeting computer zeroed in on the engine thrust nozzles and sent torpedoes screaming up the Horde tails just at their rear laser batteries finally opened fire in a desperate attempt at self-preservation.

"Oh, what the hell," Adrian grumbled. He punched the button activating the emergency comm channel. "Mayday! Mayday! We are _so_ going down!"

Laser fire blasted the _Ladyhawke_ sideways as the ship disappeared inside twin boiling suns of superheated plasma and debris that moments before had been two horde battlecruisers. The firestorm slowly subsided as all available volatile materials were consumed leaving very little trace behind.

_Hoscar_ and its carrier escort emerged from hyperspace within minutes of the fiery demise of the battlecruisers. A thorough scan of the area identified the battlefield and spreading debris cloud of two warships.

However, the _Ladyhawke_ had vanished without a trace.

180


	23. Ch 20

Twenty

Horde Battleship _Hoscar_

Uninhabited Star System

11 July 2017

Captain Dragnar shook his head as he read the results of the third detailed scan of the system. All they found was an expanding debris field that had formerly been two battlecruisers. There was an odd energy signature that was not from any weapon they knew of. The computers were still trying to come up with an answer to that. At this point, the captain assumed their quarry did not survive the dual explosions in such close proximity.

"There is no indication that the bounty hunter ship survived, general," Dragnar sighed. As far as he was concerned, they could pack up and try to catch the Val-kyrie battlestar before it crossed the border back into their own space. It would be suicide to take on such a ship given the jinx surrounding any encounter with one, but there was no other option.

"No, captain," Rongar said from the forward view ports. "They are guardians. And they would hardly allow themselves to be killed in the explosions of two warships after all they had survived so far. They are down there somewhere."

Captain Dragnar walked across the bridge to stand next to the general and to keep the conversation private. "You sound convinced that they survived."

"I am. I can't explain how I know. I just do. The tactics used is similar to what I might have done in their place. The question is; how damaged is their ship? And are they injured?" Rongar mused. He looked at the data pad in his hand once more. The display showed the debris field with vector lines overlaid on the star system. The lines corresponded with the flight vectors of the warships and the bounty hunter ship. They merged at the point in space where the debris field was located, but there was no line exiting it toward the planet. That alone would be enough evidence to deduce that no one survived the battle.

_So why do I believe they still live?_ Rongar thought.

A distress call had been transmitted on general emergency channel. The call cut off abruptly around the same time the battlecruisers were going through their death throes. Another indication any other captain would take that the enemy died taking out the Horde warships. But these were not your ordinary enemies like pirates, smugglers, or even a foreign military power. These were Guardians, and they were proving time and again that nothing was what it seemed when they were involved. They had already accomplished the unthinkable in effecting an escape from the penal planet Hel. They couldn't be allowed to get away. He-man and the other escapees could be rounded up later when they returned to their home planets with only minimal losses.

These two Guardians were going to require everything he could throw at them, and more. The battleship was armed with a brigade of Mark One Troopers, a battalion of shocktroopers, a squadron of bat mech fighters, artillery, tank and other support units, and a new weapon only recently deployed for field use. All six Guardians could lay waste to that size of a fighting force without too much trouble, as seen on the sanctuary moon where the battle suits had been discovered, but two of them isolated on a planet with no backup, limited supplies, and a starship that was likely to be badly damaged might just be overcome.

All Rongar had to do was find them.

The general ordered Captain Dragnar to begin scanning the planet. The captain complied without comment. As the battleship moved to within effective scanning range of the planet, the computer analysis of the alien energy signature on the debris field finally came in.

The results appeared on the data pad in the general's hand. An electric shock raced through his body and the small hairs on the nape of his neck stood on end.

Captain Dragnar also saw the results and walked over to the general. "This has been checked three times. There is no mistake. How is this possible? Who would have such weapons? It's bad enough those primitive Earth people have possession of reflex weaponry. But this? Someone has to be supplying these weapons to them."

Reflex weapon was simply the Horde designation for torpedoes and missiles containing anti-matter warheads. They were the nuclear weapons on Earth. Anything else was simply conventional compared to the power of anti-matter.

Now someone had built and deployed weapons utilizing quantum energy. Horde scientists had been working on the problem for more them twenty years and were still no closer to a viable weapon than when they had first started. Someone in the galaxy had figured it out and has apparently given the weapon to the unpredictable Earthers. Was this the signal for a full deployment of an entirely new family of weapons? Or was it a test to see how effective the weapons were?

Captain Dragnar recalled the data on the annihilated destroyer and found the same energy signature. He showed that data to the general.

"The stakes just went up," Rongar commented. "Wouldn't you agree, captain?" He continued when the man nodded. "Now we have a valid reason to stay here as long as it takes to find those two Guardians and their ship."

Dragnar swallowed hard. The capabilities of these new weapons were frightening and they had to be captured, picked apart, and analyzed so that a defense could be developed against them. What nagged at the captain was how the torpedoes penetrated the shields of the destroyer and the two battlecruisers. Some of the hull armor plates were pockmarked with melted craters. This was indicative of plasma bolt impacts. The ship those two Guardians were using would not have the power to penetrate even a destroyer's shields. It had to be some sort of modification used in conjunction with the quantum weapons. _That_ was truly frightening because whatever that modification was, it had been erased by the explosions when the warships died.

"There is a storm raging on much of the northern continent, sir," Dragnar informed Rongar. "It does not look like it will die out anytime soon."

"We stay as long as it takes, captain," Rongar reiterated tersely. "The Guardians are on that planet, somewhere. Whether they survived the crash or not, we _must_ recover their starship."

Captain Dragnar had been working with General Rongar long enough to know when it was pointless to argue. He also knew when a particular discussion, like this one, was at an end. Dragnar nodded and walked away to oversee the search for the Guardians and their ship hidden somewhere down on the lush, green, unspoiled world below.

Alpha Moon Base

Sol System

Nick and Gabe entered the command center minutes after the intercom announced that their presence had been required. There was the usual flurry of activity that had become characteristic of the mission.

The main screen on the forward wall of the chamber displayed a map of the local area in space where the starships _Eternia_, _Ladyhawke_, and _Logoss_ were currently positioned. The icons for two of the ships were stacked, which indicated that the _Eternia_ was currently docked inside the Val-kyrie warship. The _Ladyhawke_, however, was off in another location all by itself for no apparent reason. Gabe studied the current disposition of Allied and Horde forces and was surprised to see the _Ladyhawke_ was nowhere to be found. He wasn't overly concerned as powering down the ship to avoid detection was the next best thing to a cloaking device. If the ship had disappeared, then it was because it was hiding.

General Hammond looked distressed, though, and that had Gabe suddenly worried. Gabe and Nick approached the general as Colonel Simmons walked up bearing a status report.

"It's confirmed, sir," Simmons Reported.

"What is confirmed?" Gabe inquired politely. He noticed Anyssa and Dhalon standing a short distance away.

Hammond looked up, saw Gabe and Nick, and sighed heavily. "The _Ladyhawke_ did not dock with the Val-kyrie ship that took on the escapees. Instead, Adrian and the Sorceress appear to have made an attempt to draw off further pursuit by engaging fighters from a carrier that showed up moments before they were to jump into hyperspace." He exchanged looks with the colonel before continuing. "They made it to an unclaimed system several light-minutes from the nebula. It seems that two battlecruisers thought to have already scanned the system and moved on were sent back to attempt capture. They fought, the battlecruisers were destroyed, and the _Ladyhawke_ has gone missing."

Gabe turned back to the wall display. "Well, then they made a landing on that planet. Right?"

"No," Simmons said. "The sensor net records the three ships making the merge, the _Ladyhawke_ passed between them, but did not emerge from the explosion cloud. There was a distress call, but it was cut off at the moment the Horde ships exploded. She...may be lost."

"We don't know that," Gabe countered evenly.

"Oh, no? Then what is all this coded Horde traffic between the ships on site and the regional command bases?" Simmons shoved a paper printout at Gabe. "The Val-kyrie sensor net records it. The first warship on site, the _Hoscar_, reports it. Face it, Gabe. Adrian pushed their luck too far, and the Horde caught up to them and blew their asses right out of the stars!"

Gabe was well known for his calm temperament even when faced with irate and irrational people, but this time he let his temper out and hammered Simmons. "We don't _know they're lost!_" He took a moment to calm himself. "I don't know. It could mean they didn't get them."

Colonel Simmons opened his mouth to renew the argument, but General Hammond cut him off. "Is there any way we would know for sure if Adrian and the Sorceress did not survive the battle with the Horde ships?"

Nick spoke up when Gabe drew a blank. "The armor's interconnectivity." Gabe perked up even though everyone else had blank looks. "We theorized that each armor suit is aware of the others. Distance has no meaning to the awareness in a way we don't understand. We know only that science created the suits while magic gave them life. Time in stasis allowed them to achieve sentience using the memories impressed upon the technology."

Gabe took it from there. "The other Guardians are with Captain Majourny on the Val-kyrie ship. If the _Ladyhawke_ really had been destroyed-"

Hammond caught on. "Then Captain Majourny would have already been contacting us to that effect. And you're sure distance has no effect on this awareness?"

"Absolutely none. It seems to transcend subspace and hyperspace. If they had been killed, the other guardians would have known instantly. I dare say the shock would have been a physical pain of the worst kind," Gabe explained.

General Hammond inquired with the comm officer regarding any messages from Captain Majourny. None had arrived so far. The comm officer suggested that the Val-kyrie ship may be maintaining radio silence until they were far enough away from the nebula before safely contacting anyone. Anyssa dispelled that thought by saying the sensor net could also be used for secure transmissions. Since Guardian Command had been granted limited access to the net, secure messages could be sent. The commander of the Val-kyrie warship would know this, so if there was an emergency, the command would already have been alerted. This only reinforced Gabe's argument that the _Ladyhawke_ survived the battle and was now hiding from General Rongar, who somehow managed to catch up with them in a hurry.

"Doesn't that man ever take a day off," Nick groused. "If he's half as smart as other races say he is, he may just figure – as we do - that the _Ladyhawke_ survived, and is actively searching for it."

Anyssa added her thoughts to the conversation. "With the confirmation of his ship sending out the signal identifying the destroyed Horde ships, he will be presented with a choice. In fact, he probably had that choice once he arrived at the nebula where he hooked up with the carrier. He could pursue one of our battlestar warships, which no Horde vessel to date has survived battle with, or go after a small ship crewed by two people he will suspect to be Guardians."

Simmons stared hard at the young warrior, hands on hips. "And just how would he have figured that out? The Sorceress changed her appearance, for starters."

Anyssa did not back down as the man might have expected, or as another person might have. "Your facial recognition programs as nothing compared to why my people or, more importantly, the Horde use. The Sorceress merely transformed herself back to what she looked like before becoming the guardian of Castle Grayskull. Her natural born look, if you will. Even so, you already know spies have sent the Horde all the data on key personnel in this command that they could ever want. With a database of literally millions of faces to sift through, it would only be a matter of time before Adrian and the Sorceress were identified. Adrian suspected they would be found out eventually. He just hoped it wouldn't happen until it was too late for the Horde to do anything about it. Since the sensor net records the _Hoscar_ flying around a few steps behind, it would appear Adrian was right."

"But why send the message through Horde command channels about the loss of two ships, but nothing else?" Simmons demanded.

"You pointed that out yourself, colonel," Nick said. "On the surface, the data at hand would indicate that the _Ladyhawke_ was destroyed along with those two warships, so there would be no more reason to stay. Coming to the same conclusion you did, the next option would be to pursue a Val-kyrie warship no one has survived an engagement with. It all depends on how badly the Horde would want those escapees back."

"And since General Rongar would have no evidence to support a conclusion contrary to the data at hand, he can't report it. He doesn't have our knowledge of the armor and their capabilities. So he wouldn't come to the same shaky conclusion in the same way we have. So the choice for him would be which the bigger prize is?"

Hammond nodded. "Even one battle suit would be a prize. Two plus their operators? They'd be worth more than five He-men and ten She-ras combined."

"General, we need to find out for sure," Gabe pressed. "The only way to do that is to go out there."

"We have no more ships," Hammond said. "How do you suggest we get there?"

"With my ship," Anyssa proposed. "It's an armed, long-range shuttle capable of taking four people including the pilot. I could fly out there and find out if they are still in one piece."

General Hammond considered the idea for more than a minute, pacing up and down the central staircase as he thought. Finally he said, "All right, but I won't let you go alone." He held up a hand to stall Anyssa's protest. "Having several others along will increase the chance of success. They can search on the ground while you provide cover from the air, and you can scout out likely search areas. That's my condition. And I'll pick who goes with you."

Anyssa pursed her lips, and sighed in resignation. "Why do I get the feeling you have already chosen my crew? Very well, general, if it means having your permission to go, I accept. I will be ready to leave in three hours. Even from this distance, my ship has the speed to get there even before the _Eternia_, and that's assuming Captain Majourny got underway right now." She grinned when she stated that last bit.

"Done. Your crew will meet at your ship in two hours," Hammond agreed. When the warrior woman had gone to see to her ship, the general turned to Dhalon. "Master Quaedian, you look like a man who could use a change of scenery."

Dhalon grumbled, "I have been cooped up in this base for too long. I got into a – disagreement – with several of your people yesterday."

Hammond knew the incident well. Several Marines thought they were tough stuff and decided to pick a fight with the Quaedian. They found out the hard way what a mistake that was. All four men would be out of action for months while all their broken bones mended. "Precisely. Corporal Frost should be back from Earth by now, so he can join the mission. I'd be hard pressed to keep him away, anyway."

"And who is the last member of the party?" Colonel Simmons asked.

Gabe looked hopeful, but he knew he wouldn't be allowed to go along.

"I'll let you know," Hammond said. He left the command center with Dhalon to see to the supplies Anyssa would likely need for a full crew.

Corporal Frost navigated his way through the busy corridors of Alpha Base with relative ease. He had been flown from the east coast of the United States, where he had been going through refresher training to keep up his sniper skills, back to the Groom Lake facility at Area 51. From there, he suffered through a five hour shuttle flight up to the moon. After landing at the base, he dropped off his duffle bag in a guest quarters assigned to him and was on his way to check his weapon at the armory when he was paged over the intercom. Frost was ordered to report to Hangar Bay Two.

Bypassing the armor, he carried the bulky fifty-caliber weapon all the way back to the hangar to report in. He was surprised by the amount of activity in the bay centered on Anyssa's ship. Dhalon was present helping to load supplies into the cargo hold in back of the ship. Anyssa supervised every step of the loading, watching every person going in and out of her ship like a hawk.

Anyssa's stern expression softened when she spotting him walking across the deck with his weapon case. "General Hammond said you would be arriving at any time."

"Yes," Frost said, sidestepping out of the path of a man carrying a crate into the ship. "I was paged a few minutes ago to report here. What's going on?" He set down the case.

"A rescue operation," General Hammond supplied, walking around the nose of the ship. "We hope."

They quickly updated Frost on the operation to free the Masters from the penal planet, the escape, and the current status of the ships involved. Frost was concerned by Adrian's decision to try to draw off the Horde ships instead of docking with the Val-kyrie warship. Speculation on that point was pointless. What was done was done. Now they had to find out if there was anyone still alive out there. Considering what had already been discussed on the subject, there was only one real way to know for sure.

And that was the purpose of the present mission. Captain Majourny would soon be on her way to the target world, but Anyssa's ship could get there faster. The plan was to find out if Adrian and the Sorceress survived the battle, render assistance, and figure out a way to escape the net General Rongar was casting about the system to catch them.

Frost finally noticed that General Hammond was not wearing his usual dress blue uniform. He was, in fact, wearing the standard combat attire of the Guardian Force platoons minus the armor. "Planning a little frontline action, general?"

Colonel Simmons stormed up to the group before the general could answer. "That's what I'd like to know," he demanded irritably.

"Never ask subordinates to do anything you aren't willing to do yourself," Hammond said.

"Patton," Frost replied, pleased at the colonel's uncomprehending look.

"Good man," Hammond said, pleased that at least one of the youngsters knew of past military leaders. Even controversial ones like General Patton.

"Good movie," Frost said.

"I know it'll be pointless to talk you out of this, sir," Colonel Simmons sighed. "But what do I tell President Alexander when he calls for a progress report?"

"Tell him I'm out gathering allies for the cause." Hammond followed the others into Anyssa's ship.

Since he was added on short notice, Anyssa allowed him just enough time to get a supply of ammunition for the rifle, plus a couple of smaller weapons, and equipment, including a change of clothes, before launch.

Seething inside, Colonel Simmons watched the launch from the control tower. Despite his annoyance at the sudden change in plan, He still wished General Hammond and his party good luck.

Battlestar _Logoss_

Deep Space

The comm officer looked up sharply from her console. "Commander, I am picking up a distress signal." She touched several buttons to transfer the call to the speakers.

Adrian Cobretti's terse voice echoed around the bridge. _"Mayday! Mayday!_ _We are _so_ going down!"_

Captain Majourny and Commander Fontaine turned away from the comm station when it was clear there was nothing more. "Colonel, get me a local fix on that transmission."

Colonel Darius had in moments and transferred the information to the left-hand panel on the commander's chair. "Not far from the nebula," Fontaine mused.

"We can't just leave them, commander," Jo-jo said.

"According to these scans they engaged two battlecruisers. There is no indication they survived the attack. It would appear that all three ships were destroyed in the multiple explosions." While Fontaine didn't say it, her meaning was clear. There was no indication that there was anyone left to go back for.

"Anyssa said the Val-kyrie don't leave anyone behind. In that we have something in common," Jo-jo said. "And until I see concrete evidence to the contrary, Adrian and the Sorceress survived." She took a portable comm unit from a pocket and keyed it on. "Colonel Markson, do you read me?"

"_I'm here. We're just finishing up transferring from the shuttles back to the _Eternia_. What's up?"_ the colonel responded.

"Are any of the Guardians near you?"

"_Yes. All four of them. Why?"_

"Have they noticed anything – wrong – regarding our wayward Dynamic Duo?" Jo-jo asked. She could almost see Markson's brief confused look until he got the point of her deliberately obscure comment.

A pause on the colonel's end and then he replied, _"No. They haven't heard or felt anything. Should they have?"_

"I'm not sure. Finish your transfer as quickly as possible. Looks like we will be leaving sooner than expected on a new mission," Captain Majourny instructed. She shut the device off before he could acknowledge the order. "Anyssa has stated that our peoples value not leaving anyone behind. Is that true, or only as long as it's a Val-kyrie down behind enemy lines?"

Colonel Darius wheeled about, indignation plastering her features, but Commander Fontaine waved her to silence. "I have concerns greater than just two people, captain. The liberated people must make it to safe haven if this mission is to have any meaning."

"I'm told the Horde has no idea how many of these ships are in your fleet. They don't know the capabilities because Anyssa said no Horde captain has survived an engagement with this type of starship,' Captain Majourny said, ticking off one point at a time. "Is it because you want to maintain some mystique of Val-kyrie invincibility? Or is it because you choose the safer battles where the risk is minimal?"

Commander Fontaine swiveled her command chair around to face the captain head-on. "We do not run from a battle, captain. Nor do we leave people behind whenever circumstances permit. Just because it is two of your people out there does not mean I don't care about their fate. Surely you can understand my position on this?" Inside, Fontaine was seething with anger. Not so much at this Earth woman, who struck a sore nerve, but because of the situation back home, these 'safe engagements' were currently the standard. [Sounds like the Val-kyrie have the same problem that Carthage did during the first two Punic Wars.]

"I can, but sometimes you just have to tell the chair-bound commanders to go screw themselves, and get on with what you know is the correct course of action," Jo-jo said, turning to leave. "If it won't set your timetable back too terribly much, I'd appreciate it if you would drop out of hyperspace long enough for us to leave."

"I could deny permission to leave. Launching while in hyperspace is extremely hazardous, anyway."

"You could, but then I'd be forced to waste precious ordinance shooting my way out of your landing bay," Jo-jo commented. She paused at the hatch long enough to add, "your choice." And then she was gone on her way back to her ship.

"The way she talks about Anyssa is deplorable," Colonel Darius growled.

"You think so? I know for a fact that they have no idea who Anyssa is," Commander Fontaine said. "She was always making her way on her own rather than because of whom she knew, or to whom she was related."

The comm tech approached with a data pad in hand. "Priority communiqué, commander."

"Colonel, would you join me in my ready room?" Commander Fontaine took the pad and headed for the room behind the plexi-glass panel displaying a map of current quadrant of the galaxy the ship was in.

Once inside, Darius said, "Anyssa doesn't use her authority? That is a change of pace compared to her sister."

"Yes, but Anyssa's sister doesn't abuse her authority, either," Fontaine pointed out. She dropped the pad on her desk and collapsed into the leather chair behind it. "As you know, all battlestar commanders spend several years teaching at the academy while their command is being built. Anyssa was one of my finest students. She reminded me every day of myself at her age. We didn't always see eye-to-eye on things, but I found our debates stimulating. She never asked for any special consideration and I never gave her any. Of course, there were those individuals who thought Anyssa got special favors, anyway, but most knew better. She always wanted to achieve her goals on her own merits. That Anyssa's new friends have no idea who and what she is speaks to what a fine warrior she is becoming."

Colonel Darius gestured to the pad. "And that?"

"That is something I don't need to read. As I said, Anyssa has never pulled rank, and that will not change today."

Darius looked confused. "But the message-"

"Is Anyssa's way of reminding me of one of our own most heated debates. One that we both agree on. She knows I won't read it. I don't need to." Fontaine sighed wearily. "Captain Majourny was right. High Command picks our targets carefully to maximize terror in the Horde while minimizing the risk to us. There was a time when the Val-kyrie did not bother with playing it safe. Anyssa and I agree that this trend must come to an end. Soon."

The duty watch officer paged the commander at that moment. "Commander, Captain Majourny is requesting permission to depart."

"Very well. Drop out of hyperspace and clear the _Eternia_ for launch. And tell her good hunting." Fontaine punched up an external camera from which she could observe the starship's launch.

_Logoss_ reverted to normal space. After the ship was stable, core command cleared the _Eternia_ for launch. Within moments, the Earth ship rocketed out of the port landing bay. Once cleared aft of the giant battlerstar, the tiny ship jumped into hyperspace to make its way back toward the nebula and the nearby solar system they had left far behind.

Commander Fontaine ordered the helm to engage main engines to full sub-light power on course for home and to await further orders. Turning her attention back to her first officer, she said, "All right, this is what we are going to do." She slid the data pad aside and laid out her plan.

189


	24. Ch 21

Twenty-One

Unclaimed Planet

Solar System P3X-287

Consciousness returned slowly and painfully to Teelana. Dazed and confused, she struggled to gather her thoughts before trying to move. A steady pounding assaulted her senses threatening to overload her brain and send her back into unconsciousness.

She took stock of her situation before moving a muscle. Pale light illuminated the cockpit, so Teelana knew where she was. She also knew her right cheek was pressed up against her control console. No bones were broken, though she had a few bruises, and a shallow cut above the right eyebrow had bled down the side of her face. Drying blood was welding Teelana's face to the console, and that was just unacceptable.

Teelana peeled herself away from the controls using the retraction feature of the shoulder harness to pull herself upright. The headache flared up briefly, but soon subsided to a dull throb. With her head slumped to the left, Teelana finally focused on the other side of the cockpit. A figure slumped over the control yoke swam into focus. Seeing Adrian in such a state spurred Teelana into action despite her discomforts. It took several jerks of the release before the five-point harness fell away. Painfully, she levered herself up out of the co-pilot's seat and practically collapse over the center console.

Teelana's fingers probed along his neck for a pulse. She always had trouble with this in the first aid classes, and this situation was no different. In desperation, Teelana resorted to magic. Gritting her teeth against the flaring pain in her brain, she quickly found Adrian's life-force strong and stable. He had deep bruising in the chest area and many fractures to the ribs, but no broken bones.

Instead of trying to extract Adrian from the seat in order to carry him to his cabin, which would be impossible considering Teelana's current physical state, she opted for another painful use of magic. She poured all her concentration into the teleportation spell. The pain this time was excruciating, but she weathered the storm as it grew to unbearable levels. The pressure increased to the point that Teelana was afraid her head would explode at a critical moment. A growl welled up in her throat and escaped through clenched teeth as the spell took its final form and instantly activated. The belts on the pilot's seat collapsed when the occupant disappeared.

Teelana promptly collapsed across the center console and passed out. She awoke a short time later feeling slightly better. She shoved herself up from the console and stumbled to the hatch at the back of the cockpit and out into the corridor. The infernal pounding on the ship, or maybe it was inside her skull, continued its unrelenting assault on her senses. Teelana executed a perfect stumbling walk down the steps and fell to her knees at the bottom. Instead of trying to get back on her feet, Teelana chose a rather undignified crawl down the corridor to her cabin door.

At the door, Teelana braced herself against the wall. Her probing hand found the door controls after a brief search since every small movement of her head caused fireworks of pain to go off in her head. The first button pressed locked the door. Teelana unlocked it and tried again; this time with success. Instantly, she realized her mistake too late to do anything about the fact that she leaned not against the wall, but the door to her cabin!

"Oh, no," she whispered dejectedly as the door whisked open. Teelana flopped backward into the cabin and bounced her head off the deck. "Stupid falcon!" she chastised herself.

Minutes passed in a blur. Teelana vaguely remembered getting back on her feet and shuffling across the cabin to her bed. Four blankets somehow managed to leave the storage drawers under the bed and find their way across the way into Adrian's cabin. There was a brief image of draping two of the blankets over Adrian followed by assembling a cot from the cargo bay in his cabin.

After ensuring Adrian's cabin was properly heated and set up for the two of them, Teelana made her way aft into the engineering space behind the cargo bay. She found the main display panel on the starboard side and powered it up. The damage was extensive but the automatic repair system could cope with it. Power levels had been reduced to the lowest levels possible while still maintaining minimal life support. This allowed for the maximum amount of energy to be used in repairing the ship. Funny how she never noticed sparks flying from many damaged power conduits, exposed wiring bundles, and shattered control panels before now.

Teelana made sure Adrian's cabin would be the only part of the ship with full environmental control. The rest of the ship would cool down quickly to a temperature of around sixty-five degrees. Only the air scrubbers would remain at full capacity. Even the lighting would be reduced to a level barely adequate to see by. Teelana didn't mind because it was one less thing to send stabbing lances of pain through her brain. With the ship's internal condition assessed, there was only one thing left to do. She really didn't want to do it, but with the continual drumming Teelana now identified as being against the outside of the ship instead of against the interior surface of her skull, the exterior had to be checked for breaches.

Her resolve wavered a bit at the airlock. She needed to rest and let the healing magic repair the concussion damage, but Teelana refused to sleep until she was sure they were safe; even if it was only for the moment. Closing the inner hatch, Teelana reluctantly touched the control to open the outer door.

A wave of water soaked her to the bone almost instantly. Teelana now knew what the annoying drumming sound was on the hull. Apparently, Adrian had landed the ship in the middle of a massive storm. Soaked and shivering, Teelana struggled out into the torrential rain lashing the ship and the biting wind to complete her task as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the powerful halogen light she'd picked up in the cargohold cut through the darkness, but only about ten feet ahead of her.

Time passed in a blur once again as Teelana struggled against the wind and rain to examine whatever she could see of the hull from the ground. Transforming into Zoar and attempting to fly over the ship to evaluate the top would have been suicide. The hull appeared intact wherever the light fell upon it. Engine inlets for scooping up particles in space to supplement the ship's power were not deformed despite the harsh landing. Although she could not see very far in the driving rain, once Teelana rounded the port wing to get a look at the engine exhaust nozzles, the light briefly fell upon the long skid track stretching far out behind the _Ladyhawke_.

Shrugging off thoughts about how bad the landing had been, Teelana pressed on with her inspection. Just as she had feared, the ship had impacted the tree line of forest. Several trunks lay down the length of the ship forcing Teelana to skirt around the plumes of leafy branches to examine the starboard side. She had thought about re-entering through the airlock on that side, but the weapons wing on that side had severed a tree and the remaining stump blocked access to the lock. Dejected, Teelana finished her inspection and trudged back the way she had come through the mud and driving rain.

It seemed like an eternity before Teelana once again reached the open port side airlock. The hatch shut out the wind and rain, but the cold had long ago set in. Shutting off the light and dropping it in the corridor, Teelana dragged herself back into her cabin. She was so cold that she never noticed how much the temperature had dropped inside the ship. Moving on autopilot, she removed a spare set of clothing identical to her soaked outfit, placed it on the counter in the tiny bathroom, and peeled off her sodden clothes. She transferred the armor medallion to the hip belt buckle of the dry skirt, and then stepped into the shower in a futile attempt to somehow chase away the chill taking root in her bones.

The shower was marginally successful, but with the status of the ship now verified, Teelana trudged across the corridor into Adrian's cabin, closed the door securely behind her, and settled on the cot. She didn't bother with taking off her boots. Teelana wrapped herself up in one blanket and pulled the second one over the top of that one. She lost consciousness the moment her head touched the pillows.

Teelana stirred, rolled over on her right side, and slowly opened her eyes. Her first sight was Adrian watching her from the comfort of his bed.

"Well, Sleeping Beauty finally awakes," Adrian said with a grin.

"How long have you been watching me?"

"You mean now, or just in general?"

Teelana made a sour face. "Forget I asked." She thought for a moment and then asked, "Who is Sleeping Beauty?"  
Adrian groaned. "Don't tell me you haven't seen any of the Disney Princess movies."

"I have seen several," Teelana protested, "just not that particular one."

Sighing, and seeing a glimmer of hope for her, Adrian asked, "So, which ones have you seen?"

"Aladdin. He's – different. You are a lot like him, in a way."

"I'm not that reckless," Adrian objected.

"Give it time. I have also seen Beauty and the Beast," Teelana continued. Adrian got the impression she liked the movie for reasons other than the entertainment value.

"Ah, yes," Adrian mused. "Not unlike the two of us, though if someone calls you Beast, I'll rip their lungs out with a spoon."

Teelana smirked. "Well, you are no Beauty. The dress just doesn't suit you."

"On the other hand, you would look simply ravishing in Belle's gown," Adrian said confidently. The smirk on his face was borderline obnoxious.

Teelana blanched. "Those skirts are too much for my liking. It'd be like walking around with a bell hanging off my hips. I prefer something not as grand, but still tasteful."

"I had a dream about you."

Caught totally off guard, Teelana was not sure how to respond to that. She really didn't want to know, but the suspense quickly overwhelmed her. "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but was I naked in this dream?"

"No."

Her eyebrows shot up and Teelana forced herself up on both elbows. "No?"

"Well, you don't have to sound so offended," Adrian pouted.

"I'm not-" Teelana stopped herself to gather her thoughts and soften her tone. "I'm not offended. Surprised, but not offended." Adrian refused to say anything more. Teelana sighed in exasperation. "You're going to make me beg, aren't you?" Adrian remained silent. "All right! Will you please tell me about your dream?"

Adrian's eyes flickered in her direction. He sighed, "Nah. It's unseemly seeing you beg." He grinned when she rolled her eyes, and continued, "We were among many attendees to some kind of gathering. Not quite a ball, but there was dancing."

"I don't dance," Teelana declared.

"Don't or can't? Anyway, don't interrupt. I was escort to a rather astonishingly beautiful woman who just happens to be the guardian of a musty, old castle. That would be you. She was dressed in a stunning black satin gown with puffy sleeves. The puffs ended at about mid-bicep. The inner panels were gray that stretched across the chest to a vertical black band centered on the front connecting high collar to shapely bodice. The bodice from the waist up accented her figure nicely with what we call an empire waist cut pointed in front with a gray band like a faux belt. The skirts were about ankle-length, full without being overdone. Just above the elbows were gray bands dropping off behind them in narrow, long pieces of material ending in points at about the fingertips. All the gray parts were adorned with jewels of some kind, but because of the dark material, I couldn't be sure what color they were," Adrian explained. He tried to sit up, grimaced in pain, groaned, and thought better of it. "And for the record, you danced very well. You preferred to dance only with me."

"I don't dance," Teelana repeated.

"You will."

"Not."

"We'll see. There were many people in attendance. Our friends, the Quaedians, a few Val-kyrie I only recognized from their choice of dress – or lack thereof – and many of our people were there." Adrian went on to describe King Randor and Queen Marlena, Prince Adam, and a rather surly woman Adrian called Snake Woman. It could have been Teela because of the description Adrian had put down in his report on Teelana's rescue from Palace Eternia. Teela was the one Adrian nearly vaporized with his plasma beam rifle had she not dived out of the way at the last instant.

Teelana appeared to be in shock. Not because of the vividness of Adrian's déjà vu dream, or the people in attendance of what was clearly a social gathering of allies at some brief quiet point in the war, but because he had accurately described a gown she had made with magic around a year ago. A gown that was currently hanging in her closet back on Earth with several others made around the same timeframe.

"How could you know of a gown I haven't taken out of my closet in about a year? I know your people have repressed psychic abilities, but your dream was pretty vivid." She was lost in thought for a few moments before shaking herself back to the present and lying back on the cot. "What did my hair look like?"

That was an odd question, but Adrian answered, "You had resumed the mantle as the Sorceress of Grayskull, presumably after our current mission is complete. I dare say I find the image better than with your natural hair. It just looked 'right' for some reason."

Teelana agreed, but she was not about to say so. Until now, she had not thought about when she would have to return to the castle and undergo the transformation back into the mantle of the Sorceress. She was reluctant to admit to herself that it was good to have her natural hair back. She would regret losing it again to be transformed into that headdress.

Since the conversation had gotten awkward, Adrian decided it was time to change the subject. "So why all the blankets? The temperature seems fine in here, yet you have us bundled up as if we were stranded in an arctic region."

Teelana strained to look up and behind her at the desk where the status repeater board was located. A few more of the damaged systems were repaired, but most were still in work. "I made sure this cabin had complete environmental control before the automatic repair system powered the ship down to begin repairing the damage systems. Since the exterior sensors were down, I had very little choice but to perform a visual evaluation of the hull for damage."

Adrian noted that the rain was still drumming persistently outside. "You went out into what sounds like the storm of the century?"

"Not an easy decision, especially when I suffered a concussion in the crash. I swear I have never been so cold in all my life. I still don't feel warm. All I remember clearly was the inspection of the exterior," Teelana confessed. She twisted her head around to look at the status board again. "I really don't want to get up," she groused. There was enough reserve power available now to turn the environmental system back up to full capacity.

"Then don't. I'm in no shape to do anything at the moment. I doubt our friends in orbit will find us anytime soon so relax. Enjoy the brief respite while it lasts," Adrian said, settling in for another nap.

Teelana really wanted to just go back to sleep, but she was now feeling obligated to take charge since Adrian would be out of action for a little while longer. She threw aside the blankets, levered herself up and off the cot, and wrapped one of the discarded blankets around her shoulders.

Adrian's sudden question stopped her at the door. "Has Falcon said anything to you since the landing?"

Until now, Teelana hadn't thought about that. Falcon had been strangely quiet since before the attack run on the Horde battlecruisers. "No," she answered. "Why?"

Adrian shook his head and settled deeper in his pillows. "Probably nothing. Don't worry about it."

Teelana dismissed it for the moment. She opened the door, stepped out into the corridor, closed it behind her, and walked through the cold corridors aft to the engineering section. Her path took her through the narrow side corridor around parallel to the cargohold on the starboard side. She stopped before the engineering console and slowly scanned the settings and readouts. A few taps of the touch screen brought the environmental system back up to full capability. Seeing there was really nothing more to do until the automatic repair system completed its work, Teelana trudged off back to Adrian's cabin.

The lights were still at their lowest setting when she entered, however, the reading light built into the bottom of the overhead storage cabinets was shining brightly down on Adrian.

"Is there a problem?" Teelana asked, sitting on the edge of her cot and pulling off her boots. The deck was unbearably cold, so she quickly got back under cover of the blankets. The brief touch was all it took for the chill to set into her bones again. It was all in her head, she knew, but that didn't help make the feeling go away.

"Well, I'm stuck in bed until your spell finishes with whatever it can fix. Wouldn't be so bad except that I didn't pack a book."

"Well, the spell works better when you as sleeping, anyway, so just try to rest. Hopefully, the Horde will give up and go away by the time the ship has repaired itself," Teelana replied.

"You don't believe that any more than I do," Adrian said, looking her in the eye.

Teelana lay back on the cot and stared up at the ceiling. "Do you think the _Eternia_ is on the way back?"

"Of course. We don't leave anyone behind, if at all possible," Adrian replied confidently. "Don't worry. We're not going to rot away in some Horde dungeon, or be dissected for whatever knowledge they hope to gain about the battle suits and how we interact with them."

But Teelana did worry. Not just because of the Horde desiring to capture even one of the battle suits and its operator, but also because her capture would give Horde Prime unprecedented access to Castle Grayskull and its secrets. That could not be allowed. Teelana's last thought before sleep took her once more was a vow that the Horde would not take capture her.

Not alive, anyway.

195


	25. Ch 22

**Twenty-Two**

Val-kyrie Scout Ship

Deep Space

Anyssa's personal long-range shuttle sped through hyperspace faster than any starship in its class. These ships had been designed as couriers, covert operations craft, and personal shuttles. The technology used was almost more advanced than that of the mighty battlestars the Horde feared. The reason for the speed was because small, efficient hyperdrives had been easy to develop, but scaling that impressive speed up to the capital ships has proven problematic. Scientists estimated that the problems would be solved by the end of the year.

The warrior woman, alone in the cockpit, fired off an encrypted message before any of her passengers could inadvertently discover what she was doing and draw the wrong conclusion. Anyssa knew Commander Fontaine would be feeling conflicted right about now, especially if Captain Majourny was all but demanding to take off to rescue Adrian Cobretti and the Sorceress.

The long-range shuttle would arrive at the target planet in a few hours while the _Eternia_ was still only a quarter of the way there. However, Anyssa theorized that Captain Majourny might keep the speed down in order for Colonel Markson's platoons to prepare for a serious combat drop.

Anyssa intended to be on site to offer intelligence support. She checked the present location in relation to the planet, and touched a control on the forward panel where the sensor displays were located. A small blip briefly appeared for several seconds and then went out.

Frost emerged from the rear compartment, a hot MRE pouch in hand, and having changed into his usual duty uniform. He dropped into the left rear seat and took in the shuttle layout with clinical interest.

The main cabin, like the rest of the ship, was long and narrow with a pilot's seat and two behind it in the cockpit area. Troop seats were folded up against the side bulkheads in the main cabin to make room for rows of more comfortable seats.

The aft compartment, normally used for cargo and supplies, was given over to sleeping spaces and a few crates of supplies. Frost had changed into his fatigues back there, checked his equipment, and wondered into the forward area with a meal in hand.

Anyssa turned her head, cocked an eyebrow, and stared pointedly at the food in his hands. In response, Frost reached into the deep cargo pocket on his right leg, withdrew a packaged meal, and handed it over.

"My mother taught me never to upset a host," Frost said, smiling.

"Or you have developed the capacity to read minds," Anyssa replied. She settled back in her seat, swiveled it around to face aft, and opened the container. Her stomach growled in response.

They ate in silence watching the kaleidoscope of color flickering about the cockpit. The dynamics of faster-than-light travel was way over Frost's head. He considered that the purview of the super-geeks to understand. He did admire the pretty light show, however.

General Hammond and Dhalon emerged from the back. The Quaedian sprawled out in a seat toward the back, pushed his battered helmet down over his eyes, and was sound asleep in seconds.

Hammond settled into the seat opposite Frost. "I realize this was a bit of a rush," the general said. "I hope you didn't forget anything you might need later on."

Frost shrugged his shoulders absently. "If I did, I'll improvise, adapt, and overcome."

"Sound advice," Anyssa commented, finishing her meal.

"Well, it worked for Clint Eastwood in _Heartbreak Ridge_," Frost admitted dryly.

Anyssa rolled her eyes. "Does everything remind you of some movie or television program?"

Frost thought about that for a moment. "Not everything."

Anyssa did not look convinced, but she let the matter drop for the moment.

"So, would somebody like to fill me in on what's been happening while I was away sharpening my skills at reaching out and touching people at over a mile away?" the corporal requested.

General Hammond started from the beginning when he proposed the daring plan to liberate He-man and his allies from exile to the Val-kyrie. Anyssa proved to be quite instrumental in getting the plan formed into a viable thing that wouldn't result in everyone getting killed, and without having to execute a major assault on the penal planet.

Instead of taking the Sorceress in as the latest captive to be exiled, the plan had been altered to send a reviled bounty hunter in for a visit. This gave the Val-kyrie the excuse to finally put an end to the real man, who had been a thorn in the sides of many people, and was nowhere near his legend in real life.

At first, Adrian Cobretti objected to being objected to being singled out as the one to play the part based on the fact that he had a similar build to the bounty hunter. When the Sorceress used the power of Castle Grayskull to assume her appearance before she took over guardianship of the castle, Adrian eventually agreed. Since the Sorceress was going to assume the role of the rumored magic-user in the Cobra's employ, Adrian couldn't very well let someone she did not fully trust go with her.

It didn't take long for the pair to truly get into their new roles despite the uncertainty in the high command. Memories and skills inherited from the former operators of the Guardian battle suits allowed them to train quickly. That was particularly important when the bounty hunters ship was delivered to the moon base by the Val-kyrie, complete with a few modifications and upgrades.

Captain Majourny had been sent off to escort some dignitaries back to the moon base for a conference with General Hammond. This served two purposes. The first was that no one on the ship would see the bounty hunter ship, now called the _Ladyhawke_, around the base, and second, the Horde spies Hammond knew where lurking about on Earth would not get wind of the operation. Only the people present on Anyssa's ship and Lieutenant Feril actually saw the _Ladyhawke_ leave.

Hammond then went into the meeting with Queen Elmora, Skeletor, and King Randor and his wife, Marlena. The frustration he had felt during the several days of near useless briefings and attempts to bring them in as allies came out in his voice. Frost quietly took it all in. He was a diplomat of a different sort. The general's arena was one Frost wanted no part of.

The general admitted some nagging doubt had begun to set in the longer the operation continued without any sign from the target area. Thanks to the limited access to the sensor net the Val-kyrie employed, which had existed for over a thousand years, Guardian Command had been able to track _Ladyhawke_'s movements in real time.

Frost felt the joy right along with the general as he described the emotion of the moment when the event they had been waiting for was finally detected. The corporal had no doubt that his friends could pull it off. While there were those who doubted the ability of a former aircraft mechanic, an Army infantryman, three civilians, and an alien woman to be up to the challenges presented by the secret war against the Evil Horde, no one in the Guardian Command close to them had harbored any such doubts.

News of the _Ladyhawke_'s attack run against two Horde battlecruisers did not sit well with Frost. It wasn't like Adrian to be so rash, especially with the Sorceress alone for the ride. However, the Sorceress was showing she had a more daring side to her personality than she had first let on. The woman was as brave as any soldier Frost had ever worked with. He found it hard to believe she would go along with attacking two battlecruisers head-on. Frost would just have to ask them when he saw them.

Time passed at a snail's pace; at least it seemed that way to Frost. But pass time did until the warning chime on the navigation console went off. Everyone became alert as Anyssa prepared to jump back into normal space. If the shuttle appeared on Horde sensors, it was only for a split second. Once back below light speed, the ship's cloaking device engaged immediately.

"We are just full of surprises today," Frost commented after Anyssa explained what happened. "Are you sure the Horde can't detect us?"

"They have never captured a model of our cloaking technology. Our self-destruct systems are quite good," Anyssa declared confidently.

Frost nodded and leaned back, saying, "Good enough for me."

Anyssa took the most direct to the planet, confident that her cloaking field would protect them from Horde detection. To prove her point, Anyssa came perilously close to the battleship in orbit. They cruised right on by without tickling its sensors, and headed for a re-entry point on the far side of the planet. While the cloak hid the scout ship from detection, it could not hide a ship entering the atmosphere. The next best thing was to make re-entry where the Horde was not deployed to detect it.

The tracking beacon took them on a circumnavigation course of the southern hemisphere ending on the trailing edge of a massive storm slowly blowing itself out. The area was a barren desert except for a basin lush with vegetation. A river running down from the north flowed into a large lake surrounded by a green field of grass and thick ring of trees, and continued further south to the more temperate regions of the southern continent.

"He couldn't have picked a better place to land," Anyssa said approvingly. "I'm having trouble detecting the ship even though the beacon pinpoints the location." She studied the readings as the scout ship slowed to a hover over the lake. "The water of the lake is drinkable. The surrounding rock has a high concentration of iron that is throwing off my scans. I don't think there is a better place on the planet he could have set down."

"Provided this location was Adrian's intended landing point," General Hammond said.

"Are you suggesting that it was blind luck the _Ladyhawke_ came down here?" Frost asked.

"After analyzing the attack run against the battlecruisers, it is a possible explanation."

"The ship is intact, although there are several broken trees lying on top of it," Anyssa observed.

"Can you tell if there is anyone alive in there?" Frost asked.

Anyssa shook her head. "Must be the interference. The only indication I have that the ship is there is the beacon and physically seeing it."

Dhalon grumbled, "So what do we do?"

"Direct approach always works," Frost said. "Walk up and knock on the hatch."

Everyone stared at the corporal as if he's suddenly gone insane. "You're kidding," Anyssa said. Frost just stared back at her. "You're _not_ kidding." She turned back to her console mumbling something unkind about Earthers.

Teelana rolled over and slowly returned to the waking world. Although her sleep had been short, the nightmare did not come for the first time. She didn't know whether to be happy or frightened, so she decided to take it a day at a time.

She turned over, clutching the pillow, and looked toward the bed. The last thing she expected was to see it empty. Adrian was gone. After the brief stab of panic, she stretched out her telepathic senses and quickly located Adrian up in the cockpit. She threw off the blankets, sat up, and pulled on her boots lying discarded on the deck.

Adrian didn't turn from the pilot's console when Teelana entered the cockpit a few minutes later. She sat down in the co-pilot's seat and looked across to his display panel.

"Is there anybody out there?" Teelana asked innocently.

"You know that's a Duran Duran song, right?" Adrian asked back, smiling slightly.

"Yes, I am painfully aware of how you and Corporal Frost view life. Someday someone will turn off the television and the two of you will simply disappear," Teelana sighed. "Watching Dinozzo on that NCIS television show is bad enough. Enduring more than one in real life is almost too much to take."

"What a pity. I was thinking about trying the head slap out on Jake."

"One could say the same about you, at times."

"You won't do it because of the possibility I'd enjoy it too much," Adrian said, batting his eyes at her.

Teelana smacked him soundly on the back of the head. "Answer my original question."

Adrian shook his head. "I think you loosened a filling. Anyway, I'm trying to see if anyone is around. External sensors are spotty at best, and I don't dare use the active scan. That would be like sending up a flare."

"Do you really believe the Horde is still up there looking for us?"

"If I was in command of whatever was up there, and I had a choice between pursuing a Val-kyrie Battlestar and capturing several of those responsible for the destruction of a Horde outpost, I'd take the latter option," Adrian explained. "Less risk that way."

Teelana looked dubious. "Even if you suspected the people you were after might be Guardians?"

"Yes. The Horde still thinks overwhelming force will win. They have no idea just how powerful the battle suits are." Adrian shut down the displays to save power and lessen the chance of anyone in orbit locating their exact position.

"You really do have a feel for this sort of thing." At Adrian's sour look, she continued," We can never go back to being what we were when this all started. I know that sounds like a bad thing, and I used to think it was. But now I'm confident we are in the places we are supposed to be."

"There's more than meets the eye with me," was all Adrian could think to say. He had had enough debates about destiny and all that junk that he was not up to having another one. Teelana just looked at him. "Transformers. Optimus Prime. Megatron. Classic Good vs Evil giant robot fights."

"Yes, I know who and what they are. I am familiar with too many of your Earth cartoons," Teelana said, dryly. "And the less said about Pinky and the Brain, the better."

"What's wrong with Pinky and the Brain?" Adrian demanded.

Knowing there was no way out of this, Teelana answered, "Every time Brain asks Pinky if he's pondering what Brain is pondering, Pinky almost always says something – bizarre."

"That's funny!"

"I don't get it!" Teelana snapped.

"Not my problem," Adrian snapped back.

An uneasy silence fell between them. Normally, it wasn't an awkward silence because they had something to do, but this time Teelana really didn't have anything to occupy her mind. The silence quickly got to her.

"Has War Wing spoken to you at all since we crashed?" Teelana asked.

"No. Has Falcon said anything?"

Teelana shook her head. "No. Do you think they might have been damaged somehow in the crash?"

Adrian thought that over for a moment. "A plausible assumption, but not very likely. With the ship operating at extremely low power to stay off Horde sensors, I think it likely that they are staying at low power to avoid detection."

"The Horde could read their energy signatures?"

Adrian leaned back. "Why not? Gabe has recordings of each of the armor modes. The Horde should have salvaged enough sensor scans from our previous engagements to put together a profile of the battle-mode."

"You talk as though we are going to have third engagement soon," Teelana said, hating the idea of yet another battle. She just wanted to get to someplace relatively safe to unwind and recharge before the next mission.

"Unfortunately, I don't see a way around that, at the moment," Adrian admitted.

Silence fell between them once more. While Adrian continued to formulate a plan – she knew him well enough to know he was working on something – Teelana listened to the sounds of the ship.

Branches scrapped against the hull. Wind whipped and pressed uselessly against the hull. The rain had finally ceased as the storm continued traveling across the continent. Teelana felt the life force of nature all around them, vibrant and alive.

In the midst of all that, Teelana thought she heard something in the aft part of the ship. Only the doors to the cabins were closed, so she could in theory hear something as far back as the engine room.

"Did you hear that?" Teelana asked, suddenly.

"I hear a lot of things. Can you be a little more specific?"

Teelana listened for a moment, and then nearly shouted, "There! Did you hear that?"

Adrian listened, dubious. "That's branches against the hull. There are two trees lying on top of us, you know."

Teelana shook her head. "That isn't branches scrapping the hull. I know that sound and what I hear is different."

"Different how?"

"More rhythmic. A definite pattern. There it is again."

Adrian just stared at her.

"I'm telling you it isn't random. It almost sounds like a message."

"Spidey Sense tingling? Or the Feminine Intuition Network?" Adrian teased. It was always risky antagonizing someone with the ability to turn one into something disgusting on a whim, but Adrian felt confident Teelana wouldn't do any such thing. He hoped.

Teelana ignored him, got up from her seat, and left the cockpit. Adrian followed her down the steps, past the cabins, and stopped in the intersection between the airlocks, the cargohold, and the central corridor. It wasn't long before the sounds Teelana heard came again.

"See? I'm not insane," Teelana declared triumphantly.

"Give it time," Adrian said, stepping into the cargohold. He emerged moments later with his trusty P90 in hand.

Teelana frowned, "Is that really necessary?"

"After the past several days, you really need to ask?"

"Good point," she sighed, opening herself to the flow of magic on this world. Both of Teelana's hands began to glow blue/white with energy.

The tapping on the outer airlock hatch came again while Adrian took up station at the control panel. He listened to the beats as they were repeated every minute, or so. It sounded strangely familiar for some reason. It finally dawned on Adrian what the tune was. Sighing and shaking his head, Adrian dropped the P90 to his side and punched the control to open the hatch. There was a hiss of equalizing pressures as the hatch slid aside.

A grinning Antone Frost declared, "So, what'd I miss?"

Seeing Dhalon standing behind Frost, Adrian said, "Gentlemen, don't be shy. Come in." He walked away, adding, "We've been expecting you."

Seeing that there was no danger, Teelana dispersed the magic energies she had gathered. "I thought you were in training."

"We're all in training at some point," Frost pointed out. "In Jake's case some more than others."

"So how did you –" Teelana started. She broke off when Anyssa stepped through the hatch after General Hammond. "Nevermind. General, it's good to see you out and about, but it isn't exactly safe out here."

"It's a Patton thing," Adrian supplied. He perched himself on the edge of a crate and looked pointedly at Anyssa. "So, what's waiting for us out there?"

Anyssa stepped forward, removed a device from a belt pouch, and set in down in the middle of the deck. She touched the top and it blazed to life. A large holographic image was projected into the air. The group observed the Horde ships in orbit and the activities currently taking place.

"One Horde carrier with six squadrons of aircraft onboard comprised of two each torpedo, fighter, and fighter/bomber squadrons, and one battleship capable of deploying the equivalent firepower of an army ready to be dropped onto a planet's surface with sufficient aerial support. Both starships are capably of planetary bombardment, though the larger threat of that will be from the battleship," Anyssa explained.

Small blips in the projection separated from the parent craft – the carrier – and spread out through the local space. More vessels began leaving the battleship and headed for atmospheric entry under fighter escort.

"What's the name of the battleship?" Adrian asked, eyes never leaving the holo-image.

"I think you already know, or you wouldn't have asked," Anyssa answered. "Question is, how did you know General Rongar would be the one following you?"

Adrian snorted. "An educated guess. Who else would have the time, resources, and freedom to figure out who the Sorceress and I really are, and then come after us in a vain attempt at capture?"

"It's not a vain attempt yet," Teelana pointed out. "What kind of a battle force can Rongar throw at us?"

"Well, General Rongar has access to all types of weaponry including experimental units," Anyssa said. "It's possible he will field the latest weapons here, since it's likely that he knows who you really are. Why else come here after you instead of chasing after a battlestar?"

"Arguably, we are just as deadly, if not more so," Adrian proposed.

"Which is beside the point," General Hammond said. "He can't really believe that he has a chance of capturing two of the battle suits relatively intact, does he?" He made no attempt had hiding his doubts.

Anyssa scowled. "All Horde officers are trained to believe that nothing in unattainable when enough force is used. He will use every robot soldier at his disposal, if that is what it takes to achieve the goal."

"Then we should prepare proper reception for our guests," Adrian said, smiling ominously.

Anyssa manipulated the holographic image with a remote control. The image changed to display an aerial view of the lake valley and the river valleys feeding and draining the lake.

There were only two real options for assault open to the Horde. Since there was an open field between the tree ring and the valley walls, dropship landings in that field would the best place with the most room for a proper deployment. The only other option would be to land in the wide open area just outside the northern river valley and march down into the target zone. Since the Horde would have no idea what the enemy's limited capabilities were, that would be the better option.

Scans of the surrounding rock formations in the river valley indicated that properly placed explosive charges could initiate a landslide. It wouldn't be enough to stop the Horde, but it would delay them. The landslide might even damage a few units in the process.

General Hammond had been poking around among some crates. Prying open one, he declared, "This should do nicely."

Everyone gathered around his find. Adrian and Frost looked at the holographic map, then and each other, and grinned like fiends.

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?" Adrian said, examining the contents of the crate carefully.

"I think so Brain," Frost answered, "but if Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why does he keep doing it?"

Teelana made strangling noises and stormed away.

Frost observed, "She really doesn't like Pinky and the Brain."

"No," Adrian confirmed.

"I'll notify your next of kin."

Anyssa opened her mouth to ask what that was all about, but General Hammond cut her off. "Don't ask," he advised. "Just let it go."

Adrian, Frost, and Dhalon assembled the explosive charges while Anyssa and General Hammond looked at the holograms and sensor data for likely placement points.

"So, how was she?" Frost asked Adrian pointedly.

Adrian didn't need to be psychic to figure what his friend was asking about. "She's good."

"You rat! Gimme details," Frost demanded.

Adrian made a pained expression. "No! Not like that. Geez, get your mind out of the gutter. She did very well considering she's never been on a mission like this. Neither have I, for that matter."

Frost stared hard at Adrian. "You mean to tell me you have had the Sorceress all to yourself for several days – _alone_ – and you are telling me _nothing happened_? If that's true, why are you walking around like you're hurt?"

"After we made the attack run on the battlecruisers, the shockwaves from the explosions flung us into the atmosphere on a heading that brought us down here. My harness buckle popped open on impact and I caught the control yoke in my chest," Adrian explained. "So I haven't been feeling up to any extracurricular activities."

Frost still looked unconvinced. "And you expect us to believe that? Aside from your respect for her, that doesn't seem in character for you."

"The Sorceress is a very lovely woman," Dhalon said. Seeing the looks from his companions, he added, "For a human female."

"This from a bipedal walking fur coat," Frost said dryly.

"As I recall, you were eying several Quaedian females with interest, buddy," Adrian reminded Frost.

"Oh, why fight it," Teelana said from behind them. She had snuck up unnoticed after Anyssa and General Hammond had finished their evaluation. She stepped up right behind Frost and whispered in his right ear, "You don't _really_ believe Adrian got those bruises from the crash, do you? Since the rumor mill will be running into overtime-"

"Overdrive," Adrian corrected.

"Yes, that. Your language is so confusing at times," Teelana muttered. "Anyway, since the rumors of our sleeping together will be circulating, why should we fight it?"

"Even if it's unfounded? Where's the fun in that?"

Teelana switched to Frost's left ear and whispered, "Exactly."

Smiling seductively, Teelana winked at Adrian, wheeled about and walked out of the cargohold. Adrian wasn't far behind, since all the explosive charges were now assembled and ready for planting. The pair waited for the hold doors to close automatically behind them before bumping fists in victory.

"I still owe you for that cartoon reference you and Frost made," she warned, walking away.

Smiling, Adrian said, "Looking forward to it."

204


	26. Ch 23

Twenty-Three

Horde Battleship _Hoscar_

Unclaimed System

12 July 2017

Colonel Jabin was not happy to be ordered to deploy his entire army to the planet on a moment's notice. And for what? To find and capture two people responsible for the destruction of the entire garrison on the penal planet Hel. Jabin found it highly unlikely that two people could have managed that on their own.

As usual, General Rongar was not telling him the full story. Regardless, it was up Jabin's duty to carry out the general's orders.

It took several hours to assemble all the armored carriers, tanks, and troopers. Jabin smiled slightly as he thought about how the enemy would react when they saw it. Horde scientists called it an all-terrain assault tank. Standing thirty feel tall on six legs, the tank was heavily armored, and was armed with an array of powerful laser weapons. And anti-aircraft turret mounted in the front would keep fighters at bay while medium-range weapons set on the sides in twin-barreled mounts would take apart enemy ground forces. The massive cannon mounted on top at the machine's balance point could swivel a full three-hundred and sixty degrees and even elevate up to twenty-five degrees. That single cannon was powerful enough to obliterate any known fortifications, or so the scientists claimed. Jabin felt confident that he had more than enough firepower to force the enemy to give up without a fight.

All he needed now was a target.

As if on cue, General Rongar called on the colonel's personal comm.

Jabin raised his left gauntlet and touched a control panel. "Colonel Jabin."

"Colonel, this is General Rongar. We've managed to narrow down the target area now that the storm is moving on," Rongar reported.

Jabin frowned, "I should think you could pinpoint the location instead of giving me a general area."

"Ordinarily, I would agree. However, the area has a high amount of metals in the desert region. There appears to be some kind of unpolluted oasis in the heart of it," Rongar explained. "That is where they are. I've sent you the coordinates to a large area north of the oasis. You can march down on them from there."

Instead of arguing for a closer landing point, Jabin simply acknowledged and closed the channel. General Rongar can be irritating at times, but he was an able tactician. Landing away from the enemy's location only strengthened Jabin's belief that Rongar wasn't telling him everything. He just hoped this lack of information didn't ultimately get him killed.

Captain Dragnar looked concerned as General Rongar developed his battle plan. He refrained from saying anything outright in front of the troopers manning the stations. It was never a good to give the robots ideas.

"What is it, captain? Hmm?" General Rongar prompted. He was leaning over the holo-table looking over the projected area where the enemy was hiding.

"I am concerned, general," the captain said, leaning close so as to present the impression he was discussing tactics with Rongar. "Do you plan to tell Jabin what he's really up against?"

Rongar straightened up to his full six plus feet and looked the captain in the eye. "No, captain. I am not going to tell Jabin because he does not believe." At Dragnar's confused expression, Rongar continued. "Word of the Guardians got out after the Battle for Castle Grayskull, there were many who didn't believe the legend had finally come to pass. Jabin is one such unbeliever. So, I intend that he learn the hard way."

"You would be accused of being coldly cruel, even callus," Dragnar pointed out. "I would never have believed the legend if I hadn't seen what they did on the sanctuary moon."

"Unfortunately, it will take many more battles like King Hiss' ludicrous attempt to capture Castle Grayskull before commanders and troopers recognize the real threat those six warriors represent," Rongar said, sadly. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but we will have our own problems up here while Jabin is busy on the surface."

"Are you expecting Captain Majourny to show up?" Dragnar asked. "That would be foolish of her."

Rongar chuckled and waved a chastising finger. "On the contrary, captain, it is not so foolish. From our perspective, yes, but you must remember that these Earth people will not leave someone behind. They are much like the Val-kyrie, in fact, which would explain a great number of things."

Dragnar nodded in understanding. In order to mount a dangerous mission like the one in progress, the Earthers needed help. Resources and intelligence they did not have had to be acquired from somewhere. The report of a young Val-kyrie warrior seen fighting alongside the Earth people lent validity to a possible alliance between Earth and Val-kyr; or Guardian Command and Val-kyr, anyway.

All of which was immaterial, now. The penal planet was devastated beyond all hope of ever using again. It had been in decline for years, but the detonation of the last function atmosphere processor started the final destruction. The loss of the garrison, while tiny compared to the enormity of the Horde forces, was an addition to the enemy's tally. The morale boost to rebel factions had yet to be assessed since the news was still just beginning to circulate.

There was a positive side, however. With all communications cut off from the penal planet, Cardas' little empire was quickly spiraling into chaos. That confirmed reports that Cardas had somehow been able to run his organization from exile. Now there was truly one less crime faction to worry about. The Horde would take great pleasure in finishing off Cardas' legacy, if the other crime bosses didn't get there first.

It was ironic that the Horde owed it all to a primitive people from a backwater planet in a galactic sector no one cared about.

Rongar's question drew the captain out of his contemplative mood. "How many of the enemy do you expect to show up?"

"The maximum, as you taught me," Dragnar answered.

"We may yet get more than we bargained for by trailing that bounty hunter ship here, but we'll just have to wait and see," Rongar said, pensive.

_And pray we don't end up turning from hunters into the hunted,_ Dragnar thought darkly.

Guardian Command

Colonel Simmons prowled the moon base lost in thought. Word had quickly spread about the possible loss of the _Ladyhawk_. Rumors were running rampant from the plausible to the truly outrageous. There wasn't much he, or anyone, could do to control the rumor mill. People still talked and speculated within the confines of their own minds. The longer General Hammond stayed out of contact, the more Simmons began to wonder if the loss might just be true.

The speakers in the corridor crackled to life. That was always the signal that an announcement was forthcoming. As promised, Colonel Simmons was summoned to the command center.

While waiting for the colonel to arrive, the duty officer handed the priority message he just received via the Val-kyrie sensor net to Nicholas Jackson. Nick read the single sheet quickly before handing it off to Gabriel Burns.

"My God," Gabe hissed, distressed by the news. "My God, they must be crazy."

Colonel Simmons appeared at the top of the central stairway and hurried down the steps to join Gabe and Nick. "Well?"

"Well," Gabe answered in his best lecture voice. "You're a bit of an optimist, aren't you?" The colonel's eyes fell, and his shoulders slumped despite the confident image he was supposed to project. Gabe continued, "We just received this from General Hammond. He made contact with Cobretti and the Sorceress four hours ago. Currently, they are preparing to greet a Horde army being deployed to capture them."

Simmons totally missed that last part. His mind was stuck on the fact that Cobretti and the Sorceress were still alive. All he could think to say was, "They're alive?"

Starship _Eternia_

Ever since leaving the Battlestar _Logoss_, _Eternia_ had been a beehive of activity. Ship preparations only took a few hours to complete. The four platoons, however, were still making sure all the dropships were properly loaded and fueled. Beta and Delta platoons had done an admirable job of it when they had been sitting out in space, waiting for the dignitaries General Hammond had sent them out to escort back to the moon base.

Before all the prep work started, Colonel Markson gathered the platoons together in the drop bay. The people formed up by platoon and awaited the colonel's speech. For his part, Markson kept it short and simple. Two of their own were down, possibly wounded, and the Horde was closing in. The operation to rescue them would be strictly voluntary.

"Anyone who wants to volunteer take –"Colonel Markson started. He broke off as he was drowned out by the noise of many boots slapping the deck. All four platoons had taken one step forward. "- one step forward," Markson finished unnecessarily. "Why did I even bother to ask?" He dismissed the platoons in short order to begin their work.

It wasn't long before Captain Majourny appeared outside the bay entrance. With the officers staying out of the way to let the enlisted folks get on with the work, Colonel Markson walked across the bay to get the confrontation over with. Captain Takamora followed close behind.

When Markson stepped within earshot, Jo-jo started up again. "I swear if Cobretti is alive, I'm going to kill him! What was he thinking?"

"Still seething over having to go get him?" Jon asked. "You could have remained with the Val-kyrie."

"Still upset, huh?" Hohiro observed. "After all the evidence presented by Lieutenant Satori and confirmed by your own tactical officer, you _still_ want to kill Adrian for the Horde?"

The evidence in question was the deployment of Horde forces before the Logoss departed the rendezvous point, and the deployment after Adrian made his attack run on the battlecruisers. Adrian's presumption that someone had been trailing him appeared to have merit. The fact that the sensor net identified the _Hoscar_ in the area was no coincidence.

It appeared that tangling with a battlestar was more risky than capturing two Guardians isolated and alone. They might be injured and their ship beyond the capability to be repaired. Easy pickings by Horde standards, but they weren't dealing with their average enemy. Adrian and the Sorceress would not go easily, or quietly.

The shift in Horde ships originally closing in on the _Logoss_ gave the Val-kyrie the opportunity to get away safely. Instead of pursuit, the Horde ships were now taking up stations of containment. Once the _Logoss_ crossed the border back into Val-kyrie space, it would be out of reach. Two Guardians and their incredibly powerful armor were not, and the noose was slowly closing.

"The guy did us a favor whether we like it or not. If anything, it's an admirable selfless act," Hohiro pointed out.

Jo-jo's stare suggested that she would use the diminutive Oriental as a fill-in sacrifice until she got her hands on Cobretti.

Shifting uncomfortably, Hohiro muttered, "Excuse me. I think I hear Apone barking." He beat a hasty retreat.

"He's right, you know," Markson said simply.

Jo-jo ground her teeth together. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Jon stared hard at his friend. "Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't have acted similarly if you had been on that ship instead of Adrian?" Jo-jo opened her mouth to answer, but Jon held up a warning finger, and repeated, "_Honestly_?"

Deflated, Jo-jo answered, "No. I would have done the same. I just hate the idea of tangling with a battleship. We're going to need a miracle to end this mission without losing one of our own."

"Hey, this whole mission has been one miracle after another," Jon said lightly. "Let's see if we have one more in the bank, okay? Who knows? Maybe we've earned a little interest on this one."

Jo-jo snorted. "Only if their luck changes. We'll arrive in a couple hours. Make sure you're ready to drop the instant I give the order."

"We'll be ready," Jon promised to her retreating back.

Despite all of Jo-jo's complaining, Jon knew she was just as worried as everyone else. He knew she didn't mean some of what she said about wanting to kill Adrian herself. Now they had to make sure the Horde didn't get the chance to do so.

Unclaimed Planet

With the help of Anyssa's cloaked shuttle, Frost and Dhalon placed the explosive charges on each side of the river valley walls in just over an hour. Signal boosters were strategically placed so that the charges could be set off from a long distance away.

Anyssa deposited Frost and Dhalon near the rock wall northeast from where the _Ladyhawke_ had come to rest. General Hammond had the sniper nest set up to Frost's preference when the pair arrived. Hammond's job would be to point out targets, reload magazines for the fifty caliber rifle, and call the withdrawal to the _Ladyhawke_. Anyssa would cover them as needed, though she preferred not to let the Horde know that a cloaked Val-kyrie ship was present until it became absolutely necessary.

Adrian and Teelana left their ship and walked across the grassy clearing toward the tree line. With the storm gone, the sun was shining and air smelled fresh and clean. A slight breeze ruffled Teelana's hair as she tied it back in a ponytail.

"What?" Teelana demanded when she caught him staring.

"I never saw you with a ponytail before," he answered. "I like it."

"I used to wear my hair like this before I became the guardian of Castle Grayskull," Teelana admitted wistfully. "That seems like a lifetime ago."

"Well, maybe the castle will let you keep your hair when you go back," Adrian suggested. "You _are_ going to return, right?"

Yes, of course. I just never thought of asking to keep my hair." Now that she had gotten used to having it for this mission, Teelana was reluctant to let it be transformed back into the falcon headdress. If her role as the castle's guardian had changed that much it seemed like a small request to keep her natural hair.

"Are you two kids going to join us?" Frost interrupted without knowing it. "Or do we have to fight that Horde by ourselves?"

Teelana touched the boom mike in her right ear to activate it. "You would be safer than being near me right about now, private."

"Corporal. I got promoted recently. Remember?"

"That can change," Teelana growled. She was enjoying this bad girl image a little too much for Adrian's liking.

Activating his mike, Adrian said, "We'll be in position shortly. What's the status of the Horde army?"

Anyssa informed them of the enemy's progress. They were just starting to make their way down the river valley. She estimated that the army would be passing through the mined section in about thirty minutes,

Teelana grinned, winked, and set off toward her assigned position in the forest ring.

"Stay awake out there, Frosty. This is going to happen fast," Adrian said. He activated the armor as he sprinted for his position.

"I thought we agreed not to call me that anymore," the corporal groused.

"That was before you tapped _Shave and a Haircut_ on the hull."

"Hey! It worked, didn't it?" Frost protested.

"Why don't we let the masses decide?" Teelana suggested. No need to elaborate on who she meant by that. She knew no one in the platoons would let him live it down.

It didn't take Frost long to decide. "I think I'll just go out and fight the Horde army on my own."

"It would be safer than staying here with us," Dhalon chimed in.

You know you have hit bottom when the alien allies starting in on you. Frost was outnumbered three-to-one even though Anyssa had been staying out of it. Frost wisely quit while he was behind.

Anyssa transmitted the passive sensor scans from the cloaked shuttle to Falcon and War Wing so that they could monitor the progress of the Horde army. The lead elements were just starting to pass through the mined area.

Teelana's face appeared in the upper right corner of Adrian's heads up display. "I recognize several of those machines, but I have never seen that six-legged walker before. Nor have I seen those large robots rolling along on tracks."

Adrian changed the view screen through eye movements to magnify the image. The tracked machine rolled along on segmented tracks like the tanks, only these were arranged in a trapezoid shape. A vertical cylinder supported the sensor dome on top and the side arms mounting powerful plasma cannons. That beast was raised to number four on the list of priority targets after the walker, armored personnel carriers, and the tanks.

"Looks like they have some new toys for us to play with," Adrian said, smiling evilly.

"As long as we aren't the ones who get played with by them," Teelana cautioned.

War Wing beeped at Adrian. The Horde army was in position. He waited another minute before shifting his left eye to the icon that would arm the explosives. A blink and the packages detonated.

Dust and rock blasted horizontally out into the valley. The cloud of debris showered harmlessly down upon the machines and robot troopers along the flanks of the column. The army halted its march briefly in the event of a follow-up attack. When it was clear that none was forthcoming, the machine army resumed moving down the valley.

"If at first you don't succeed, Mister Kidd," Adrian said in a low, even tone.

Corporal Frost extended the antenna on his detonation unit, and thumbed the ON switch. Thumb poised over the red activator button, he answered, "Try, try again, Mister Wint." He mashed the button.

A second wave of detonations rippled across the upper edge of the valley walls. Plums of dust and debris blossomed into the sky. As the clouds began to settle, a new sound started low, at first, and grew into a roar. Tons of boulders broke loose from the walls and started a deadly avalanche that tumbled down into the valley. Tanks were shoved ruthlessly aside. Troopers were crushed into mangled heaps of broken scrap metal. An armored carrier was toppled onto its side into the river by a particularly large boulder, and pounded into useless junk.

All in all, the results turned out better than expected even though it was just delaying the inevitable.

The Horde channel War Wing had been monitoring suddenly came alive. "I am addressing the renegades hiding in the oasis valley," Colonel Jabin declared."

"Here we go," Adrian said. "This will be Captain Dragnar, or maybe the big man himself."

"This is Colonel Jabin," the commander announced.

"We appear to have been downgraded," Teelana commented.

"Can you hear me?" the colonel persisted.

Adrian opened the channel. "Yeah, I'm listening."

"Did you really believe your rockslide would deter us?"

"Nope. That's what we call an attention-getter. Got your attention, didn't it?" Adrian asked. "Anyway, aren't you going to threaten me, or something?"

"I will do so, if that is what you wish. First, I will simply ask you to surrender peacefully. Your ship is too damaged to fly, or you would have already left this planet. If you surrender now, I promise you will live." He was supremely confident in his superior position.

His mistake.

Switching to the tactical net, Adrian said, "You wanna field this one, general?"

Hammond shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not really here. I'm just a figment of your warped imagination."

Teelana failed to stifle a snicker.

"Smartass," Adrian grumbled. He switched back to the Horde channel, noting that the army was on the move once more. "So, I surrender and you'll forget the whole thing?"

"I don't think either of us would believe that. And there is the garrison you destroyed. The Horde demands its pound of flesh," Jabin snarled.

Adrian snickered. "For the record, Commander Xinder's second-in-command did most of the work. He was in Cardas' employ, and was hoping for a place in the organization when they fled the planet in the transport."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Jabin scoffed.

Adrian smiled even though it was only an audio channel. "I don't give a damn what you believe. That's for the big man in orbit to investigate. I know he'll discover the truth in no time."

"He doesn't know," Teelana said over the tac net.

Adrian hastily muted the Horde channel to speak to her. "Say again?"

"He doesn't know who we really are," Teelana repeated. "It would appear that General Rongar did not tell this Jabin who he is really pursuing."

Adrian frowned. "That's not like him. Rongar is your poster child career military soldier. Much as I hate to admit it, he has a sense of honor that reminds me of the German Luftwaffe during World War Two."

"I agree," General Hammond added. "He must have a very good reason for sending this colonel into a meat grinder without all the facts."

"He doesn't believe in the legend of the Guardians," Anyssa supplied. "There has been some division in the ranks about it."

"Good," Adrian said, opening the Horde channel again. "Hey, Rongar! Tell this nutcase what he's really dealing with, and call this off before it really gets ugly. Take the day off. I promise I won't tell anyone. If you thought six of us were a nightmare at the Battle for Grayskull, just wait til you see what two of us backed into a corner can do."

"You are wasting your time," Jabin said. "The general left it to me to bring you in. So you will deal with me."

Adrian thought about it only for dramatic pause. "Sorry. I have a once per lifetime limit on visiting the mindsifter, and that has been reached. Fine. You want us? Come and get us. If you Hordelings weren't so flaming stupid, you'd be more fun to play with. Nevertheless, we're hosting a party down this here oasis, and you're invited. Who knows? We might even wax your butt for you."

Jabin's calm demeanor slipped just a bit. "You have no weapons. No support. No hope of rescue. And your ship is grounded. In short, you have no plan!" Jabin summarized angrily.

Adrian laughed. "Yeah, and doesn't that just scare the hell out of you?" He cut the connection before the colonel could respond.

After a moment, Frost said, "Nice John 'Hannibal' Smith. You realize he's going to come in here mad as hell?"

"I certainly hope so," Adrian replied.

After few moments of silence, Teelana asked, "So, what is the plan?"

"Stay alive," Adrian responded.

"Good plan."

"Right. Let's bring it!" Adrian declared. He stepped boldly out of the forest, locked targets on three of the APCs, and fired his plasma rifle.

211


	27. Ch 24

Twenty Four

Unclaimed Planet

Colonel Jabin sat safe and secure in the command chamber of the assault walker with two troopers. The robot on the left drove the lumbering machine while the other worked the systems board. Another trooper sat segregated in the nose of the machine where it could operate the medium range and anti-aircraft guns. The colonel had control of the primary cannon mounted on top. That he could not succeed against two stranded humans, with even a quarter of his fighting force, never entered Jabin's mind.

He would soon discover what a fatal frame of mind that was.

The trooper on the right reported, suddenly, "Energy spike directly ahead."

Even as the trooper delivered the report, three tanks on the leading edge of the formation abruptly exploded in quick succession. Sensors triangulated the source of the enemy fire and shifted the view to a close-up of the attacker.

"An impressive piece of engineering," Jabin observed. "But it's still just a glorified suit of power armor."

General Rongar, who had been listening on Jabin's open channel to the _Hoscar_, commented, "You think so? Those suits are more powerful than you give them credit. However, it isn't the machines themselves that make them so deadly. It's the pilot inside."

"Nothing is indestructible. They aren't suicidal, which gives me the advantage."

"We'll see. Let me know how it works out," Rongar said, closing the channel before Jabin could reply.

Jabin seethed with anger. He vowed to beat these renegades and show Horde Prime just how much of an alarmist General Rongar was. No matter how many of these suits actually existed, their pilots could not prevail against a coordinated attack designed to wear them down. Everything had a limit. Find that limit and you win the battle.

After the initial attack to say 'hello,' War Wing launched from the tree line and landed fifty yards closer to the enemy's right flank. While airborne, Adrian took out another tank and an armored carrier. The explosions were rather pretty in a weird sort of way. He always liked how pieces tended to fly in all directions. Those pieces had enough mass in some cases to crush troopers and drones standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

At the moment War Wing touched down dirt and rock chips exploded all around him. A few plasma bolts actually splattered ineffectually against the battle suit's Etherium skin. A tracked tower unit on the enemy's right flank had followed the Guardian's flight and unleashed a storm of plasma bolts from the guns mounted on armatures. A blast from War Wing's plasma rifle vaporized the upper structure leaving the track base. The power core overloaded and detonated moments later.

The rifle dematerialized. Panels slid open in the bottom of each forearm and thermal-energy beam saber handles were deposited in War Wing's hands. Since the suit topped out at around ten feet in height, the sabers were similarly oversized. Ruby-red shafts of intense energy sprang from the business end of the handles, and they were promptly put to deadly use.

War Wing spun, slashed, stabbed, and chopped his way through the formation of troopers and battle drones. Sparks flew with each strike. Robot body parts were strewn in his wake as the Guardian hacked his way closer to the line of tanks rolling up to support the infantry.

Stowing the sabers, War Wing switched back to the plasma beam rifle. He popped the shield off the mount point on the left forearm and grabbed the handle recessed within as a tank maneuvered into position to fire both barrels at him. Puffs of smoke marked the discharge of shells in the Guardian's direction. Both shells impacted the neutronium shield leaving only residue smudges. The double impact knocked War Wing slightly off balance. As he stepped back to his right to regain his balance, Adrian fired a bolt of plasma into the offending tank.

Shrapnel from the tank's destruction scattered across the battlefield. The shockwave from the explosion flattened any robot within range. The Guardian spread his trademark wings, lit off foot and backpack thrusters, and leapt up and backward to put a little distance between himself and the heavy units. He blew away two more tanks in the process. A third, however, got a piece of him with a well-aimed shot.

The impact blew the Guardian off course into a tumbling landing. He came to rest yards from his intended landing point. He managed to hold onto the shield and the rifle skittered away across the ground. Falcon hollered a warning that drew Adrian's attention to the armored carrier attempting to grind him under its big wheels. The machine came at him as fast as the power plant could push it, but it wasn't enough.

War Wing quickly got to his knees, snapped the shield back into place on the left arm, and slammed the pointed tip into the ground. The APC driver did not aim properly when trying to run the Guardian down. The vehicle's left front wheel hit the shield and rolled right up it. The momentum the heavy vehicle carried was more than enough to drive it up into an unbalanced state, toppling it onto its side. The mighty crash shook the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust.

The Guardian leapt high into the air once more as the rifle was recalled to his outstretched hand. He fired a plasma bolt into the APC's power plant and rode the blast wave higher into the sky. Shrapnel bounced harmlessly off the etherium armor as Adrian lined up his next target.

"Time to end this," Adrian muttered. He turned to face the approaching walker and the Horde commander riding within.

Colonel Jabin watched with acute interest. The winged battle suit proved to be more powerful than expected for such a small size. Nevertheless, his right hand remained on the control grip for the walker's main cannon.

"Now, it's your turn," the battle suit pilot declared over the Horde channel.

Alarms blared in the walker control cabin as the enemy painted it with targeting beams. "Give me your best shot, Guardian," Jabin spat, unphased by the lock-on tone.

War Wing pushed the power to maximum. The targeting reticule rested on the point just in front of the walker's cannon mount. The glow at in the muzzle of Adrian's rifle blazed like a star in the night sky. At maximum output, the star exploded into a blinding white beam the struck the target with the full fury the Guardian has taken down Horde frigates with. Plasma energy boiled over the walker and should have blown it up in seconds. However, as the storm dissipated, the impossible happened. The walker remained intact with nothing more than a soot mark where the blast had struck.

"Uh, oh," Adrian muttered.

"Say again," Teelana requested. She hadn't heard him clearly.

"Houston, we have a problem," Adrian declared, bracing for the return volley.

"My turn," Jabin growled, and pulled the trigger.

The main cannon on top of the walker was already lined up on the tiny target. The targeting system locked on in a second, and the weapon discharged like an exploding sun striking War Wing dead-on.

Teelana stepped out of the trees after Adrian was fully engaged with the Horde. With their attention on him, they wouldn't notice her until she struck. But with what? Falcon pointed out that the magic staff she had been using thus far was not constructed to handle the power the battle-mode could pour into it. She got lucky in the fight with King Hiss in that the battle didn't last too long. This battle, however, would destroy the staff in seconds.

"What would you suggest, Falcon?" Teelana requested, ignoring the open channels to the Horde and War Wing. She had them set to receive only until she and Falcon engaged the enemy.

"Try this," the battle suit replied.

A wire diagram of a weapon took shape on the left side of the heads-up display. It was a staff weapon like nothing she had even seen before. A color picture took the place of the wire diagram making it even more impressive. It could be held like a staff to discharge devastating blasts from the blue crystal focusing lens housing at the end. There was a perpendicular handle at the midpoint that would allow her to use it like some weird kind of rifle.

"This should do nicely to get their attention. After our last battle, the Horde likely thinks we don't have much going for us besides being a magic enhancement suit, which I am," Falcon explained. "But we'll show them."

The staff deployed from the backpack. Teelana reached back, took hold of the weapon called a psionic staff and brought the weapon forth. Falcon targeted one of the platform guns rolling along on tank treds. The crystal lens flared to life as energies built to the saturation point. A blue bolt of electro-magnetic –EM – energy drove across the battlefield in an instant striking the target. Blue/white lightning danced around the metal surfaces of the mobile gun droid. Electronics fried instantly marked by puffs of smoke leaking through the nearest seam in panels and armor plates. The machine stopped dead in its tracks now a useless pile of junk.

Falcon targeted and fired more bolts at the reduced power levels necessary to destroy the electronics of every robot and battle drone unlucky enough to be in the line of fire. Teelana strode forward as more robots fell to the EM weapon. Dead machines created obstacles to be navigated around by the troopers on foot. The tanks, APC, and other big vehicles simple drove over the dead robots. Clearly, recycling was not something the Horde practiced.

Dhalon and Corporal Frost added their fire to Falcon's. Although more of an annoyance to the Horde than a real threat when compared to the Guardians, they were no less deadly. Dhalon preferred the more personal approach of close combat, but the Quaedian understood the need for keeping the robot troops as far away as possible.

"So what's the plan?" Frost asked as he blew the dome off one trooper after another. He paused only to reload with magazines provided by General Hammond.

"Stay alive," Teelana answered simply.

"Good plan."

Holding the staff across her body, Teelana slashed the psionic staff horizontally from left to right. A blue energy wave lashed out across the approaching skirmish line of robots. The EM wave fried all the electronics in its path, their limbs jerked and spasmed as they died. Some collapsed, but most remained upright to be mowed over as the bigger units ground ever forward.

At Falcon's direction, Teelana removed the edged disc weapon on the left hip and flung it out toward the battle line of approaching battle drones. Laser fire and railgun slugs splattered against the Guardian's shield. The laser energy was redirected into the power cell while the slugs flattened themselves against the hardened energy barrier. All the while, the disc soared out to the left before it juked to the right and carved through the heavy battle units like a scythe through wheat. Drones toppled into a debris field of neatly severed upper and lower body parts. At the end of its arc, the disc changed direction again and returned to Falcon's outstretched hand like a boomerang returning to the thrower.

Teelana began to understand what her fellow Guardians felt when the adrenalin rush hit. She was starting to feel invincible. It was as if the battlemech was a suit of armor that nothing could penetrate, which was not too far from the truth. But there was also the danger of overconfidence to which even the sentient artificial intelligence was not immune.

"I'm beginning to understand," Teelana said to herself. She noticed War Wing hitting the ground hard off to her left. He lost his grip on the plasma rifle and didn't see the APC changing course to ram him head-on. Switching the link between them back to send and receive, she shouted, "Look out!"

Wing's head whipped around to see the oncoming APC and took action. Teelana didn't see the end result because she was knocked out of place by a close volley from the tanks moving to support the decimated ground troops. She heard the results of whatever it was Adrian had done in the comforting sounds of the vehicle exploding.

Instead of opening the distance between herself and the tanks, as would have been prudent, Teelana chose to close with them. She had taken note of the tactics the other employed in previous battles, Adrian, in particular. It seemed that being unpredictable threw the robot brains into turmoil because their programming could not predict what the enemy would do next.

Falcon surprised Teelana by activating a feature of the psionic staff shared with the battle suits. The weapon compacted and shifted form until it resembled the hilt common to a cutlass. The blade that emerged from the top in blazing fashion was pure electro-magnetic energy magnetically bound into a curving blade. Taking the disc blade from the left hip again, Teelana strode into the enemy fire with one thing on her mind; to kill all the tanks trying to do the same to her.

Shield levels held up admirably against the withering assault because the incoming laser energy was redirected to shoring it up. Impacts from ballistic weapons took something out of the shield, but not enough to be a danger. At least, not yet.

Teelana got so engrossed in her little section of the battle that she didn't notice War Wing's attack on the six-legged walker until day in that area exploded into a nova. She turned her head in that direction. The cannons each Guardian had mounted in their heads blasted a drone into scrap.

"Say again?" Teelana requested when she didn't hear what he said clearly. It was then that she noticed the walker was still intact.

"_Houston, we have a problem,"_ Adrian said.

The world exploded as Colonel Jabin returned Adrian's fire.

Falcon didn't have time to scan for War Wing. As soon as the Guardian disappeared into the trees by the force of the blast, the ground forces turned their attention to the next deadly threat.

The force field globe could not be maintained because the attenuation was under tremendous strain. The suit's AI shrank the field to a more manageable level of several inches from all surfaces. It became the personal shield Gabe Burns was still struggling to make a working prototype of. However, even that would not last long. All it did was buy Teelana time to come up with a new plan now that the shield wasn't taking so many impacts.

Because the sweeping bursts of EM energy had drained much of the capacitor, Teelana resumed the direct approach she had started before War Wing got blasted into the trees. Disk and beam cutlass sliced into the enemy mercilessly. Teelana almost felt sorry for the machines throwing themselves at her in a vain attempt to destroy her. They had been programmed to destroy the enemies of the Horde, so her remorse lasted but a fleeting moment.

Falcon felt nothing for the soulless machines she and her operator battled. They knew nothing of the joy of sentience. Better to put them out of their mindless slavery than to let them go on in such servitude. The AI was conscious of the fact that her power was not infinite. There was enough massed firepower to end her liberation if she and her operator were not careful.

The tactics changed after War Wing's defeat. Instead of trying to draw the Guardian in to pummel her with overwhelming force, the Horde was now trying to push her away from the bulk of the enemy force. While Teelana fought her way back toward the canyon wall to support her friends now engaging drones closing in on their position, Falcon scanned the enemy tactics and formation trying to figure out what the goal was before it killed them. Falcon reached the answer just as a transmission from Colonel Jabin flooded the Horde channel she still monitored.

"Now, it's your turn, woman. You Guardians are nothing to fear as General Rongar would have us believe," Jabin said. The walker was maneuvering to fire as soon as the cannon could be brought to bear. It could not traverse lower then negative ten degrees from horizontal, so the troopers, drones, and tanks were trying to push the enemy battle suit out to a position where Jabin could blast it from the face of the galaxy. "You fought valiantly, girl, but now it's time for you to die."

"Over my dead body," Adrian countered.

Jabin's head snapped around to the bank of monitors over the heads of the troopers driving the walker. They showed a panoramic view all around the machine to observe and direct the battle. Sensors quickly locked in on a tiny figure hovering over the trees in the distance. The colonel zoomed in the view and shuddered in surprise at the in-screen image.

"That's not possible," he breathed, astonished.

"Not _probable_," Adrian corrected. "Impossible is something we don't believe in. If you'd actually listened to Rongar, you'd know that. As I said at the Battle for Grayskull, you need a bigger gun."

The walker reversed its turn, but because of its bulk, it could not move quickly enough to re-engage. Even the bearing mount for the cannon was slow in traversing back to the primary target.

"Nice refractive armor you have there," Adrian said, truly impressed. War Wing had analyzed it while lying in the trees rebooting his primary systems and powering up for the renewed fight. "However, it has one fatal flaw. Your formula makes it energy resistant, but it isn't _impact_ resistant."

In a flash, the Guardian soared up into the sky far higher than the cannon could elevate even if it had been on target. Zeroing in on the blast point weakened by the first attack, War Wing cocked his left arm back, and dove straight toward the walker. He landed heavily seconds later, slamming the point of the shield straight into the armored shell using all momentum from the power dive behind it. The armor cracked easily and yielded to the neutronium alloy punching through.

Breach alarms blared in the command center as Jabin realized what was happening. He had grossly underestimated the enemy, and he was about to join the ranks of casualties to that way of thinking.

"Oh, God," the colonel whispered, as the image of the winged Guardian blasted up and away. The plasma rifle materialized in the suit's right hand, and targeted the breach.

"War Wing will suffice," Adrian answered, hearing Jabin's comment. Then he squeezed the trigger.

A narrow beam of raw plasma punched through the breach and continued on into the heart of the walker. The power core was housed below the cannon and in between the command center and the gunner in the nose. Because of the shear energy required to fire the cannon, direct feed from the reactor was necessary since there was no conduit material thick enough to keep from melting under the strain, and still make the walker mobile. Shielding for the reactor boiled away in seconds, breached, and detonated in spectacular fashion.

The middle legs blew away from their mounts and topple over. The cannon, mount and all, was thrown high into the air by the blast wave to land upside down fifty yards ahead of the machine. The rest of the walker was consumed by the uncontrolled release of the fusion engine.

"My, that was a pretty explosion," Frost commented over the tactical net.

The battle had paused with the fiery death of the Horde commander. Without their leader, the remaining robots were unsure of how to proceed. Dhalon dispatched the last drone to get within threatening distance of the sniper nest, and retreated because he had been drawn too far out. He scarcely took note of the blast other than to duck his head from any debris that might come down on him.

"At least he went out with a bang," General Hammond said, innocently. At the corporal's surprised look, he added, "What? I remember what it was like to be a young officer on the battlefields of Afghanistan."

"They're pulling back," Dhalon interrupted.

Hammond and Frost looked out at the battlefield, and sure enough, the Horde forces were withdrawing to the river valley. They appeared to be regrouping and reforming into a battle formation.

"They won't take long," Anyssa advised. "We need to be ready for them. Aerial units are inbound. They'll be overhead in about a minute."

Hammond suddenly moved off to where he had hidden the communications equipment that supported the tactical net. He scanned the control panel, adjusted several controls, and spoke into his mike.

Batmek fighters soared overhead in formation. They were the decoy as two pairs of fighters roared down the river valley. They strafed the battlefield in an effort to keep the Guardians at bay. Anyssa cursed over the tac net when several stray shots struck her ship. Despite the cloak, the Val-kyrie ship rippled briefly from the impacts before disappearing again. Anyssa had no choice but to drop the cloak, raise the shields, and engage.

War Wing and Falcon met back at the tree line.

"I knew you couldn't be killed that easily," a relieved Teelana said.

"This isn't over yet," Adrian cautioned.

"Killtoy," Teelana grumbled.

"That's killjoy, and the day is young."

Turning serious, Teelana asked, "Are we going to make it out of this?"

"We're not dead yet. There are always possibilities. At the very least, we go down fighting," Adrian answered confidently. Secretly, he hoped Captain Majourny could make it past General Rongar. The _Eternia_ was no match for a Horde battleship no matter how resourceful and unpredictable the captain could be. The robot army would renew the attack when they were ready. Unfortunately, the solar charging system the Guardians were using to recharge their capacitors was slow, and they would not have the power for another full scale battle. _I guess we'll just have to wing it._

_You mean we haven't been up this point already?_ War Wing asked, full of mirth.

217


	28. Ch 25

Twenty-Five

Unclaimed System

_Eternia_ was a bee hive of activity. In the minutes leading up to the jump back into normal space, the crew made final checks on all systems. The plan was to release the four dropships in a combat drop into the planet's atmosphere. Once clear, the ship would dive after them to support the rescue op.

Colonel Markson had his platoons load up in the three armored carriers minutes from transition to normal space. The vehicles were in place below the dropships with the magnetic clamps locked in place on the wheel hubs. At the command from the bridge, the carriers would be raised into the belly of the dropships, and the ships lowered into the drop bays. If anything went wrong on the run up to the planet, the soldiers might have to evacuate the APCs in a hurry. Once the dropships were lowered into the drop bays, however, they would be committed.

Alarm klaxons began to wail seconds before the ship jumped back into normal space. Instead of using reverse thrusters to slow down, as normal procedure dictated, _Eternia_ rode the wave of momentum from the transition and slowed only to the maximum speed her sub-light could produce.

It took only moments to identify the enemy carrier and battleship in planetary orbit. Batmek fighters were launching from the carrier decks within minutes of the _Eternia_'s emergence from hyperspace.

Captain Majourny gave explicit orders to ignore the enemy starships and run for the planet. Before they could worry about getting out, they had to get in. Jo-jo decided on the only attribute her starship had to do that; speed. Unfortunately, a straight-line course was easy for a targeting computer to track and predict where to place laser fire in the ship's path for it to run into. Horde tracking systems were among the best in the galaxy, so Jo-jo knew they were in for a rough ride. Once the _Hoscar_ opened fire, there was little to do but hold on and pray.

Down in the drop bay, the platoons sat tensely in their carriers while the Guardians fidgeted in the fourth dropship. The fourth dropship was of a new design just off the assembly line. The APC bay had been converted into a troop bay large enough to accommodate the battle-mode Guardian armor; all six of them. No one spoke. Speculating about what they would find on the planet would only increase their anxiety.

On the bridge, the tension could be cut with a knife. Every moment that passed without so much as a target lock from the enemy starships was a moment closer to having a really bad day.

"I don't like this," Lieutenant Denton grumbled once again. His eyes were glued to the tactical board watching for the slightest flicker of enemy targeting beams.

"I'm almost disappointed," Jo-jo said, trying not to glance at the display panels mounted on supports on either side of her chair. She had done that when the ship dropped out of hyperspace and quickly got a sore neck from the movement.

As if on cue, alarms blared from the tactical panel announcing that they were now being targeted.

"Feel better now?" Denton snorted disdainfully.

"Yes. I'd hate for General Rongar to disappoint me," Jo-jo answered.

_Eternia_ was close enough to the planet now that the entry angle into the atmosphere could not be altered. Jo-jo looked at the left panel and watched as the armored carriers were raised into the dropships. Jo-jo had seen the cycle many times, but it was always amazing to watch. The bay doors closed around them while the inner drop bay hatches opened. Hydraulic arms locked into mount points on the top surfaces of the dropships extended to lower the craft into the bays. The arms retracted leaving the dropships resting on panels in the bays, and the inner hatch closed.

Just as he had done on the run into to Planet Eternia, Ace angled in for a combat drop. The difference was that after release, he would be diving into the atmosphere after the dropships once they were away and clear.

"Standby," Ace announced. His voice echoed throughout the dropships and the carriers. "Ten seconds to release."

The external bay doors swung open. Only the dropship pilots could see the clouds whipping by below, which was a good thing. Even the most seasoned pilot could get nausea-inducing vertigo looking at it for long.

When the count reached zero, the reinforced pads the dropships rested upon folded down against the sides of the bay in less than a second. Each ship literally fell out in sequence from the rear bays to the forward ones to prevent collisions entering the slipstream.

"They're away," Lieutenant Denton reported. "Bay doors are closed."  
Without waiting, per the captain's orders, Ace dove the _Eternia_ into the atmosphere. Jo-jo was still wondering about the lack of fire from the enemy when Lieutenant Denton made another report.

"Hyperspace disturbance, captain!" Harley reported tightly. "Looks like a late-comer to the party. A big starship is about to drop out of hyperspace."

Hardly surprising with all the Horde warships in the 'local' area. "Too late for the Horde," Jo-jo said grimly. She clutched the arms of her chair in a death grip in anticipation of the wild flight through the atmosphere.

She wasn't disappointed.

Rongar straightened up from the holo-table after Jabin's fiery demise. The projection of the ground battle had lost interest for him. "Well, he lasted longer than I expected," the general mused. He touched several controls on the comm panel and called the ranking trooper who had just inherited command of the ground force. "Trooper, pull your remaining force back into the river valley to regroup. Then, I want you to press the attack."

The trooper protested, "But, general, they have been systematically taking us apart."

"They have also been expending a great amount of energy fighting you," Rongar pointed out. "They can't maintain those levels forever. Now do as I tell you! Withdraw, regroup, and capture those battle suits."

The robot acknowledged the order and signed off. Rongar waited until he was sure his orders were being carried out before turning away from the table. "Robots," he muttered, full of disdain. On the bulkhead above the science station, Rongar noticed a long-range image of a familiar starship silhouette streaking through space.

Rongar walked across the bridge to stand next to Captain Dragnar. "I was beginning to wonder if they would ever show up."

The captain raised a questioning eyebrow. "You had doubts about Captain Majourny showing up?"

"Let's just say that I had doubts she would arrive in time to turn the other Guardian suits over to us along with their friends trapped on the planet," Rongar answered.

Sensor data began coming in on the enemy ship's course and speed. It didn't take long for Captain Dragnar to figure out what they were doing. "Interesting. They are making a high-speed run at the planet," he mused. Dragnar ordered the weapons trooper to target only _Eternia_'s engines and weapons. Fighter wings from the carrier began to launch en mass from the carrier. They would set up a blockade for when Captain Majourny tried to escape from the system.

Because of the range and speed at which the enemy ship was traveling, the targeting system failed to get a lock before the _Eternia_ passed over the planet's horizon. Precious time had been lost analyzing the flight path and determining where the enemy was headed. According to telemetry from the satellites deployed at the edge of the system, Captain Majourny appeared to be angling for a vector to safely release the dropships. However, follow-up data showed that she had made an unexpected move. _Eternia_ had made atmospheric entry after releasing four dropships.

"Captain! Reading hyperspace disturbance," the sensor trooper reported suddenly.

Hardly surprising considering the number of Horde ships racing toward their position. "Fine, fine," Captain Dragnar said dismissively.

"Captain, it's _big_," the robot persisted.

That drew the captain and general back over to the science station. The monitor above displayed the special area of the disturbance. The telltale sign of a ship entering or exiting hyperspace flared into a semi-translucent cloud and lightning storm. The starship emerged moments later. Instead of slowing to about half the rated sub-light speed, as was the universal practice, the unknown vessel soared in at maximum burn. The trooper automatically zoomed in for a clearer picture of what they were facing. The vessel jumped in size repeatedly as the computer scrolled through the magnification settings.

Although he could only see the bow of the intruder, Captain Dragnar instantly recognized the design. Paling, heart pounding in his chest, he croaked, "Is that-"

The trooper cut him off, reporting, "Confirmed. Val-kyrie battlestar. Transponder ID is the _Logoss_. Commander Fontaine commanding."

Looking white as a sheet, Captain Dragnar turned to General Rongar, and whispered, "We're dead."

The moment the _Logoss_ was secure in normal space, all defenses came on-line, and the starship was readied for battle. Pilots were transported to the landing bays via a tram system. At the end, each warrior dashed to her fighter somewhere in the long line of lethal-looking craft. Two minutes after the alarm klaxon had blared, all fighters were manned and ready.

At a command from the bridge, the fighters were pulled into the launch tubes by tow links connected to the nose landing strut. Blast shutters recessed in the deck swung up to seal the tube. Engines roared with pent up fury as if the machines were as eager as their pilots to go into battle. Core command gave the order to launch and the pilots responded immediately.

Captain Graza snapped the throttles forward with her left hand. The fighter pressed forward against the tow linkage straining to break free. When the engines stabilized at max power, Graza mashed the red button on the side of the right throttle grip.

The catapult system fired flinging the fighter down the launch tube in a mater of seconds. The tow link released at the end of the track setting the fighter free. Once free and clear of the tube, the out wings rotated up ninety degrees to level giving the fighter its namesake form.

Bladewing.

Batmek fighters were formidable in space. They lost some maneuverability in an atmosphere, but most races attacked by the Horde had nothing that could match it. And then the Val-kyrie deployed the Bladewing. It was an air/space superiority fighter designed from the ground up to combat the Batmek.

The Bladewing was armed with twin laser cannons in the forked nose and one heavy cannon in each wingtip pod. The folding wing served two purposes. First, it provided a mount point for the heavy weapons capable of destroying a Batmek with one shot in the right place. Second, the pods served as landing struts when folded down ninety degrees. This also decreased the amount of space taken up in the landing bays allowing a warship to carry more of them.

Captain Graza took the lead as the rest of Blue Squadron formed up around and behind her. She pulled up the tactical display on the center screen. While the fighter's sensor suite was respectable, it did not have the range required for most capital ship engagements. Typically, the firing ranges were far greater than those capable by the Bladewings weapons. To compensate, Bladewings were equipped with a repeater system that received data from the mothership's sensor system.

Fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes from the Horde carrier were forming up to make attack runs on the _Logoss_. The fighters' wings flew in at an angle designed to draw off the defensive screen of Bladewings, opening the door for the bombers and torpedo planes to go to work. Unfortunately for these Hordelings, they had absolutely no idea what they were dealing with. Sine no Horde ship had been allowed to survive an engagement to date with a battlestar, these Horde captains were about to find out just what 'battlestar' meant.

As she was formulating a strategy to deploy her squadron in conjunction with Gold Squadron, a transmission came in from core command.

Commander Fontaine's voice echoed in Graza's helmet. "Captain Graza, send one squad to the planet to support Captain Majourny's extraction of her people. We've spotted at least four squads of Batmeks in the atmosphere."

Graza pressed the transmit button on the throttle grip set for communication with the bridge. "Only four? That's hardly a challenge."

"True," Fontaine agreed. "However, there is a certain long-range shuttle present trying to offer air support. We both know how effective our shuttles are in that capacity, although she has shot down several Batmeks already."

"So she's gone and gotten herself into trouble again, eh?" Graza asked. She and the commander knew who they were talking about so there was no need to risk the Horde intercepting the transmission and figuring out exactly who was present in the system.

A snort on the other end. "Did you really expect anything less? Like mother, like daughter. I'm just glad she's on our side. Now get going. We'll make short work of these Hordelings, after which, we will have to leave in a hurry before their re-enforcements arrive."

"Acknowledged," Graza said. She pressed another preset button on the throttle grips to transmit over the squadron frequency. "Lieutenant Doran, take charge of the squadron and defend the ship. First squad with me. We have been ordered to cover the extraction planetside." She wheeled her fighter about and soared off toward the planet.

"Well, that'll give us a chance to brush up on out strafing skills," Lieutenant Farina said.

"Indeed," Graza agreed. "You need all the practice you can get. Eventually, I figure you'll hit what you're aiming at."

Lieutenant Nara added, "Even the birds duck and cover when Farina's in the air."

Graza quieted them down and told them to focus on the job. They had a narrow window in which to get back to the ship, so they needed to get in and back out as quickly as possible.

From the bridge, Commander Fontaine watched the four fighters break away and head for the planet while the remaining squads formed up in their assigned zones and engaged the enemy. Fontaine grew tired of the small displays, as she always did, and ordered the up the main display. In response, a panoramic holographic display of the battlefield scrolled down into place over the bridge stations.

Bladewings and Batmeks plowed through each other's formations in what would ordinarily appear to be a supreme act of suicide. It was all one-sided as the Bladewing pilots blew the enemy fighters into brief expanding fireballs with no losses of their own. As predicted, the Horde drew the Val-kyrie fighters off to open lanes for the bombers and torpedo planes to make attack runs. While bombs were not quite as accurate or effective in a vacuum as missiles or torpedoes, if one aimed them right, momentum could carry a bomb into the intended target.

Colonel Darius nodded to the fire control officer, who began tapping a series of controls on her control panel. Anti-aircraft defenses all over the surface of the ship came alive. To reduce the load on the battlestar's primary targeting array, each laser, railgun, and flak mount had its own targeting sensor and sector of responsibility. This was a more decentralized setup, but it was very effective. Any enemy the onboard computer saw enter its assigned defensive field was instantly fired upon. The computers were so advanced that approaching enemy fighters were blown out of the stars while not endangering pursuing Bladewings. Because of the possibility of errors, however, after the initial contact by the fighters, no one pursued an enemy back toward to the starship unless directed by core command. Proof enough of the effectiveness of the defense net, as the Horde was about to find out.

At five thousand kilometers, the flak guns opened up on the planes approaching from above and to port. Over a hundred points of light winked a projectiles were hurled into space. A field of explosions erupted moments later in the path of the approaching craft. Like the planetary version, the shells detonated spraying lethal shrapnel into the void. Unable to avoid the metal shards, bombers and torpedo planes were cut to ribbons and exploded. Trailing craft managed to make it through the initial defensive wave, but they didn't make it much closer. Single and dual-barreled railguns opened fire sending tracer lines of fire across the space and through the surviving craft. The rail gun slugs were as light as aluminum and only half as hard as etherium, but being accelerated almost to the speed of light, they cut through the Batmek fighters as if they had been made of tissue. Any craft surviving that level of fire entered the third defensive ring of laser batteries. They had a shorter effective rang, but they were no less lethal with no craft having ever made it beyond that.

Confident that no fighter craft was going to threaten her ship, Commander Fontaine turned her attention to the capital ships. "Energize all primary guns and set them to desynchronized burst fire. Set landing bay cannons to anti-proton fire. All bow guns set to plasma discharge. Target: Horde carrier. Fire when you have a lock," Fontaine ordered.

Colonel Darius watched the distance close to optimum faring range. The fire control officer had her right hand poised on the control stick for the primary cannons while her left hand completed the ordered firing spread. The primary display on her console was centered on the target warship with a red crosshair overlay. The instant the crosshair flashed green, she knew they were within range and squeezed the red trigger.

Blue orbs blasted from the twin cannons poking out of the nose of each side-mounted landing bay. Several seconds later, the twin cannons mounted on either side of the angled bow, and the pair underneath the forward sensor array blasted away with spheres of raw plasma. The sensor array in the nose was drowned out with interference from the discharges, but backup panels strategically placed elsewhere on the bow structure automatically took up the slack.

The carrier had no chance of avoiding the onslaught. Anti-proton spheres hammered the shields until the port shield arc flickered from the disruptions. The trailing plasma assault blasted through the barely functioning shields and slammed into the unprotected hull armor. Weapons, armor, critical electronics, and shield emitters exploded and turned to slag.

Commander Fontaine ordered all bow guns switched over to sustained beam fire with converging strikes. Each of the ten mounts was capable of limited angle adjustments allowing the fire control officer or the computer to place the beams on target in any combination from pairs to all at once.

Yellow/orange beams speared the floundering Horde carrier just aft of the port bow. The battlestar's flight path made adjusting the beams unnecessary because the helm officers used the main engines and guidance thrusters to 'walk' the beams down the length of the carrier. Everything in the path of the converged beams boiled away into atoms. The fusion reactor breeched in a heartbeat and the ship erupted in a spectacular fireball that was quickly snuffed out by the vacuum of space. All that was left were mangled bits tumbling away from the explosion area no bigger than a Batmek fighter.

Total time of the attack: just over twenty seconds.

_Hoscar_ had been flying out of the planet's gravity well ever since the _Logoss_ had been positively identified. This quick action by Captain Dragnar saved his ship, at least for the moment. _Hoscar_ and _Logoss_ were out of position for each to engage the other with their main guns. The secondary weapons were still formidable. While they were designed more for suppression of enemy fighters and smaller capital ships, they could still deal considerable damage.

No matter what angle the Batmeks came at the _Logoss_ on, flak cannons, railguns, and lasers continued to blow them out of the stars. Bladewing pilots were commenting, as they always did, about the beauty of scene. The effect was not lost on Captain Dragnar or General Rongar, especially when the flight of torpedo planes flying in on the _Logoss_ from directly behind were met with murderous fire from the gun mounted above and below the main engines. More weapons above and below the long landing bays took their shots if the angles were right. Nestled in the top center of the main engine nozzles was a cubbyhole that originally was supposed to be a small engine exhaust, but it was changed early in the design phase, to a place for the four rear-facing torpedo launchers above the rearward sensor pod targeting array. Those torpedo launchers finished off the batmeks the other guns could not get an angle on.

The Batmeks never had a chance.

As the range closed for a near pass by the capital ships, _Logoss_ rolled fifteen degrees down to starboard off the horizontal axis to bring all the guns possible to bear as the ships passed. Anyone in the no-man's land between the ships would have seen nothing but clouds of explosions as the enemies hammered one another with everything their secondary guns could deliver. It was over in seconds, but the effects were significant.

_Hoscar_ trailed molten shards of armor and chunks of destroyed guns, sensor panels, and shield emitters. _Logoss_ rolled to fifteen degrees down to port and veered away from the planet. Her shields had held up much better, but still took a punishing blow. Waves of plasma radiated off them like a tail of a comet flying through space.

"Well, I'd say we have confirmation," Colonel Darius commented as the helmswomen maneuvered around for the head-on confrontation to come.

"Yes," the commander agreed. "We suspected that General Rongar had access to experimental weapons, and now we know."

"Yes. They actually knocked our shields down below twenty percent," Darius said. "The duel with our main guns is going to be ugly."

Fontaine touched a button on the right arm of her command chair where the comm panel was located. "Engine room, standby to activate the ZPM on my command."

"_ZPM system on standby awaiting your command,"_ the chief engineer acknowledged.

"It seems we both have surprises for each other," Fontaine mused. "Don't be too hasty. Re-enforce the shields as best you can with the primary power grid. Let's surprise them."

Darius knew the timing would be tight. Her status board showed some of the systems had been stressed by the initial exchange. If the shields held against the opening volley from _Hoscar_'s main guns, they would give the Horde a shock. All the Bladewing pilots were keeping their distance in a capital ship battle while mopping up the surviving Batmeks.

_Logoss_ finally swung around and lined up on the _Hoscar_. While capital ships were powerful, they maneuvered with the all the grace of a garbage scow. Battlestars were more nimble than ships of its class, but it still took time and a large amount of space to turn around. Both ships exchanged blistering plasma fire.

The four tri-barreled gun mounts around the bow section of the Horde battleship pounded the battlestar's shields with greater force than anticipated. "Shields at ten percent, commander. We can't take much more!" Darius reported. The ship shook violently from direct hit to the hull.

Fontaine keyed the comm. "Engineering – _now!_"

The effect was immediate. The zero point energy module utilized vacuum energy, the existence of which could only be explained by quantum mechanics, to supplement the battlestar's power grid. The shields snapped back to full power, much to the horror of Captain Dragnar and General Rongar, and the plasma barrage from the main guns struck with greater force.

_Logoss_ and _Hoscar_ quickly passed out of alignment to strike with their main guns, but the battle was pretty much over. The Horde vessel lost all power, the port side tri-gun mounts, and had severe damage to the primary systems. _Logoss_ was in a lot better shape structurally, and most of her main systems were still functional, however, the ZPM module was off-line along with all the weapons and shields.

"What happened?" Fontaine demanded from the chief engineer. She wanted to strike the killing blow on the _Hoscar_ with the aft torpedo launchers, but all the weapon grids were down.

The haggard voice of the chief engineer finally overrode the chaotic noise of engine room. "All offensive and defensive systems are down. It'll take hours to get them back on the main power grid. The ZPM system overloaded and crashed all the systems it was supplementing."

"Can you give me any weapons at all?"

A sigh. "None. We have a real mess back here. The conduits connecting the ZPM to the mains are fried."

"How long for repair?" Fontaine asked, dreading the answer.

"Commander, the conduits have literally melted down. Only a spacedock facility has the necessary equipment," the chief engineer answered.

"All right. Make sure the hyperdrive is functional. We'll be jumping into hyperspace as soon as our allies are evacuated from the planet." Fontaine closed the channel before the chief engineer could acknowledge the order.

"Contact Captain Graza and tell her she and Captain Majourny's people have to evacuate. Now. Held, align us for home and proceed at half sub-light speed so that our fighters can catch up." Commander Fontaine sat back at stared at the holographic display still showing the dead and drifting Horde ship. How she wanted to finish it off, but she couldn't spare the time.

Colonel Darius walked over to stand by the command chair and speak on low tones with her commander. "The Bladewings are returning with the exception of Captain Graza's squad. We're getting them back on board as quickly as possible. We could refuel and rearm a squad or two with heavy torpedoes and finish the _Hoscar_ off."

Fontaine shook her head. "We'll have just enough time to recover the people from the planet and get out of here. Those Horde re-enforcements will arrive in short order and we are essentially defenseless. No. We'll have to let them go. The queen Mother will have my head for this."

"It's not your fault. We needed to know what this design could take and where the weaknesses are," the colonel pointed out. "And we confirmed the theory that the _Hoscar_ is armed with experimental weapons. A Horde ship was bound to survive an engagement sooner or later."

"True," Fontaine said. "But it happened sooner than the Queen Mother would have liked."

The standing order had been to go on leaving no Horde survivors from battlestar engagements for at least another six to twelve months. The engagement with _Hoscar_ proved that experimental capital ship weapons were very close to becoming standard armament. At least they had detailed sensor data on those weapons to analyze. Once the weakness in the ZPM system was solved and power distribution systems enhanced, they could reduce the effectiveness of those new weapons. All the _Logoss_ had to do was get back across the border intact.

Simple.

227


	29. Ch 26

Twenty-Six

Unclaimed Planet

Novina Satori continued to call the _Ladyhawke_ as soon as the _Eternia_ had cleared the upper atmosphere. So far, she was getting no response; however, the chatter on the Horde combat frequency was quite intense. The situation wasn't looking too good. If the _Ladyhawke_ had been destroyed, there was no way Novina's signals could be received. The entire bridge was as shocked as she was when General Hammond answered after the tenth call.

"General? How did you get out here?" Jo-jo couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"No time to explain. I'm activating a homing beacon now. Follow it to the battlefield," Hammond instructed. He signed off, shut down the comm equipment, and left the locator beacon pulsing away contentedly.

Novina got a fix on the beacon's location in short order and passed the coordinates along to the four dropship pilots.

Lieutenant Feril acknowledged the order to follow the coordinates to the location beacon. _Eternia_ had the capability to pick up the repeating transmission where the dropships could not, so she had been given a general heading to follow and lead the other dropships to the target area. While the starship could vector the dropships in by heading alignments, the pilots would require something more to get on target. To that end, a channel had been set up to enable the pilots to talk directly to a Guardian.

Feril began transmitting to get the attention of War Wing and Falcon. It wasn't long before she realized where the battle was taking place; off in the distance, a flight of Batmeks was flying wildly about as if something was attacking them. Feril spied other shining objects darting about and presumed that was what had the Horde so agitated.

"Looks like we're coming up on some kind of valley," Feril told the other pilots. "Release the APCs in the clearing to the left, and then form up on me for an attack run." After the pilots acknowledged the order and prepared to deploy the carriers, Feril added, "Anyone who returns to base with a single bullet, bomb, or missile left in their magazines will get a personal ass-kicking from me!"

War Wing slammed to the ground and skidded a short distance before finally coming to a halt.

"And that's Newton's Third Law," Adrian told Teelana.

"I thought the idea was for the Horde to have the equal and opposite reaction?" Teelana said, skeptical.

"Yeah, well, science is never exact, but Gabe was right about one thing," Adrian replied.

Teelana prodded, "Which is?"

"Science _is_ fun."

Adrian made no attempt to get up. He was less of a target laying flat, so the Horde shifted their sights toward the more visible one, much to Teelana's dismay. War Wing's power cell was also far too low to sufficiently power all the weapons.

Teelana observed, "Frost and the general have almost made it to the tree line. They just ducked behind a boulder. I think they are waiting for us." [A comment about Teelana repelling/blocking an attack would work here, and would be expected since the last paragraph mentioned the Horde shifting their attention to her.]

"Lemme guess," Adrian said, levering himself up and to one side. He couldn't sit straight up because of the folded wings. "Dhalon is padding his score?"

"Yes," Teelana sighed. "Anyssa and her games."

The Val-kyrie in question was flying for her life above the battlefield. After the initial laser hits that had revealed her presence, Anyssa had disengaged the cloaking field, powered up the scout ship's shields, and attempted to keep the Batmeks at bay. She did succeed in shooting down two, but those kills came from lucky maneuvers that the scout craft was not designed for. All she could do was keep the fighters away until her friends on the ground withdrew to the _Ladyhawke_, which had the speed and firepower to take on the Batmeks.

Sonic booms blasted across the field training behind the streaking forms of four sleek fighters. Captain Graza banked around to the right with her wingman in trail while the other pair broke to the left. "We've got this, Scout One. Go cover the withdrawal," she said over the tactical channel.

"What took you so long?" Anyssa demanded, a whimsical tone in her voice.

"Oh, you know us. We just can't resist the chance to teach the Horde that engaging a battlestar is suicide."

"They'll never figure it out if we don't allow the occasional survivor to report back."

"That may happen, if the rumors about the _Hoscar_ are true. But that's Commander Fontaine's problem. If you'll excuse me, I see an opportunity to raise my score to an even twenty." Graza's Bladewing flight dropped down behind a pair of Batmeks that had been veering around for a strafing run on the Guardians.

The targeting system compensated for leading the target, so that when she placed the piper on the mark and squeezed the trigger, red bolts of plasma stitched the sky and the enemy craft when it flew into the line of fire. The Bladewings swung around the expanding fireball that had been a Batmek a moment before and pressed the attack against the enemy's wingman.

The maneuver took Graza out of firing position so she let her wingman, who was in a better position, take the lead. Although she was less experienced than her flight lead, Lieutenant Floran quickly got into the prime shooting position and shot the Batmek down with a burst from all of her guns. It was overkill, but Floran wanted to be sure the enemy went down.

The pair soared off to meet a fresh wave of Batmeks arriving from orbit. They had left the carrier to assist the ground forces before the _Logoss_ destroyed it. Now, they were going to engage some of the best pilots in the Val-kyrie fleet.

Adrian perked up when Feril's voice suddenly sounded over the com channel set up in the tactical net. "Damn, it's good to hear a friendly voice."

"We're almost on top of the battle, but we need a reference," Ferial said, keeping her flight of dropships low in order to surprise the Horde.

"No problem," Adrian answered. He dropped onto his back to point the guns in the collar skyward. A small amount of the preciously small energy reserve was used to fabricate two smoke shells. Rocketing from the muzzles, the canisters trailed red smoke all the way. At five hundred feet, the canisters detonated into large red clouds. "There's your mark. Everything beyond that point may be considered hostile."

"Copy that," Feril replied, lining up on the location. "Rolling in hot."

"Bring the rain." Adrian said, finally getting up. He took Falcon by the elbow and moved back toward the forest. "Time to go."

Falcon, not listening in on the channel set up to talk to the Guardians, was about to ask what he meant by that when she got her answer.

Four dropships popped up from the oasis side of the forest ring and soared across the tree tops as graceful as a bird in flight; weapons pods deployed for battle. Missiles rippled from the upper pods as the Horde forces tried to redirect to the new threat. Explosions blossomed across the skirmish line.

The three APCs opened up on the enemy as soon as they had a clear target, not that the mass of Horde forces was hard to miss. In a matter of seconds, one quarter of the remaining enemy force was destroyed, or so badly damaged as to be a non-threat.

On the small window in his field of view, Teelana's face was a mask of astonishment. "I love it when a plan comes together," Adrian said, grinning broadly.

_What plan?_ War Wing asked again.

Ignoring the sarcastic AI, Adrian trailed Teelana as the pair made their way toward their companions. An exceptionally fine shot by one of the remaining Horde artillery guns flattened them with the shockwave from a proximity impact.

Four armored figures leapt from the personnel bay of Feril's hovering dropship as it slid into position above the prone Guardians. The remaining four Guardians grounded in a skirmish line facing the enemy.

"We'll take it from here," Jake Rockwell declared, deploying his twin Gatling gun pods.

War Wing and Falcon picked themselves up and continued their run for the rock outcropping. Adrian began to think that they might just get out of this intact after all.

Lieutenant Floran got separated from Captain Graza in the frenzy of maneuvering craft. Now, she was in the sights of a particularly proficient robot pilot, and things were not going well.

"Captain, I'm in trouble," Floran reported calmly, though inside she was anything but. "I can't shake a Batmek fighter. Several more are closing in on me."

"We can't get to you," Graza said after analyzing the spread of her squad. She tried not to dwell on what could happen. Losing a member of her squadron was not an option.

Anyssa came through with a lifeline. "Switch your secondary frequency to the following," she instructed. "We can use this to communicate with the Earth ships. I have someone who can assist."

"Blue Two, dive toward my position and my weapons officer will punch that fighter's lights out," Feril instructed, lining up for the shot.

"I hope she's a good shot," Floran said grimly. She spotting the hovering dropship and swung around to dive on its position. An alarm began to blare when the ablative armor dropped below thirty-percent effectiveness. Floran slapped a button to silence the alarm and concentrated on the dive. She was surprised when a male voice spoke to her.

"I've been known to hit what I am for," Lieutenant Covney said. "Nine times out of ten. On my mark, pull out of your dive and bank to your left."

The Bladewing blocked the dropship from the view of the pursuing Batmek. All Floran had to do was hang on and hope the ablative armor and refractive coating held out.

"On my mark…3..2…1… Pull up and bank left!" Covney commanded. The Val-kyrie did as instructed, though her fighter appeared to struggle with the tight maneuver. It did finally pull up and away, however, giving Covney a clear shot at the Batmek.

The robot pilots got a nasty surprise as they were suddenly confronted with the Earth dropship and two missiles ripping from the upper pods. The closure rate between the descending Horde fighter and the ascending missiles was infinitesimal at best; the Batmek exploded in a boiling cloud of expanding gases and debris scattering in all directions. Covney launched two more missiles into the teeth of the Batmek that had been trailing its partner. The fighter emerged from the fireball only to create one of its own when the missiles slammed into it.

"I love it when they come to me," Covney crowed with delight.

"Dropship – _move!_" an unfamiliar voice barked suddenly.

Feril didn't hesitate. She slammed the throttles forward to the firewall and flew toward the enemy lines. Laser bolts blasted through the space she had just vacated moments later. Captain Graza pursued the Horde fighter that had just executed the failed strafing run, lined up the shot, and blew the Batmek into flaming wreckage out beyond the valley's west rim.

"Thanks, whoever you are," Feril said, releasing several bombs on a line of Horde tanks as she passed overhead.

"The name's Graza, and I'm just returning the favor," Graza answered. She switched to her squad's tac net. "What's your status, Floran?"

The young pilot responded after a quick check of her status boards. "Ablative armor is almost gone on the back quarter. Refractive coating is at about half effectiveness."

"Fly high cover with Blue Four," Graza ordered. "This fight is almost over."

Despite the counter-attacks, the strafing runs and general beating the Horde army was enduring, they still managed to close the range on War Wing and Falcon. Teelana fried two drones with EMP blasts, but they kept coming. She made it to the rock formation just as a hail of rail gun slugs intersected with her.

Most of the slugs did little to no damage to the tough etherium alloy armor; however, one round struck the lower left side at the back near the power reservoir and recharge port. Falcon screamed in Teelana's mind. It was a primal scream of unimaginable pain.

The battle suit immediately peeled back armor plates and components to revert to the form-fitting combat mode power armor. From there, the suit withdrew into the large red crystal on Teelana's left hip. The now totally vulnerable woman collapsed to the ground, dazed and confused.

War Wing expended the last of his energy reserve launching himself into a high arc. He landed on the boulder Teelana lay behind, reverted to the power armor, snapped up the auto-pistols holstered on his thighs, and began blasting battle drones. While the maximum effective range was only around fifty meters, the etherium bullets provided by the Val-kyrie more than made up for it in punch. Two drones shuddered from the impacts of the rounds punching through the armor chest plates as if they were tissue paper. The drones toppled backwards, twitched a couple times and then lay still.

A powerful explosion blew Adrian backwards into the rock outcropping behind him. He slammed hard into the unforgiving rock and dropped to the ground in an armored heap.

Dhalon stepped out from behind the tallest finger of rock pointing skyward, battleaxe in hand. He raised the weapon over his head and heaved it with every ounce of strength in his feline body. The axe tumbled end over end and bit deeply into the chest of battle drone trying to outflank their position. The impact, and resulting damage, unbalanced the drone. With a speed no one would have suspected in such a compact frame, Dhalon sprinted straight at his wounded target the moment he released the axe, leapt into the machine and toppled in completely over onto its back. He wrenched the axe loose and slammed it repeatedly into the sparking breach until the machine stopped twitching. His foe vanquished, Dhalon extracted the double-bladed axe and went in search of more targets.

Teelana shook off her daze and crawled over to Adrian, she and Frost arriving at the same time. The Marine grumbled about never being able to open the power armor in times of need. Teelana pressed her hand against the glowing dome in the center of the six silver rays radiating from it on the chest plate. The armor responded immediately, compacting itself into the six-pointed medallion attached to a heavy silver chain.

Adrian immediately rolled over and coughed up blood. Teelana had never seen anyone in such pain before. The impact had clearly caused internal injuries, considering the man's barely restrained groans and painful cries. It tore at Teelana's heart to see Adrian like this, despite the explosions going on around them and the enemy steadily closing in for the kill, Teelana wanted to use her magic to at least ease his pain.

Before she could make her choice, Adrian reached out and grabbed her by the raised collar of her vest, pulling her close. "Get the ship," he groaned, eyes filled with the pain of his injuries. "We're leaving." He released Teelana and dropped flat on his back.

Frost punched Teelana in the shoulder, not hard enough to hurt, just to break her out of her frozen state. "Go! We got this." He pulled out a small medical kit, and began self-aid and buddy care.

Teelana would not be able to recall later how, but she managed to transform into Zoar, fly through the forest ring without hitting any branches, and land near the _Ladyhawke_ in a matter of minutes as if her brain was on autopilot. She stumbled through the outer hatch and was passing through the inner one when the ship rocked violently for a moment. She made her way through the corridor, up the stairs and was dropping into the pilot seat when a few more flashes brightened the sky outside. At first, Teelana thought it was lightening, but the storm had long since moved out of the area.

As she clipped the mic and earpiece to her right ear, Teelana spotted a familiar shape hovering over the trees. "Anyssa! What are you doing?" she demanded as she powered the ship up for flight.

"Making sure those trees are broken so you can lift off. Once you have the ship powered up, set the anti-grav lifters to maximum, lift the nose, and go to full power on the main engines. The trees should slide backwards," Anyssa explained.

"And I will slide the ship right out from under them," Teelana said more to herself than to the Val-kyrie woman.

_Ladyhawke_ came alive under Teelana's direction. All main systems were repaired and ready flight. There was still some minor damage the auto-repair was working on, but those systems were not critical to normal operations. So, following Anyssa's directions, Teelana powered up the anti-grav lifters and attempted the lift the nose of the ship as high as it would go. When nothing happened, she was afraid the weight lying atop the ship might be too much for the lifters to handle. Teelana was considering her options when the view outside the windows jerked and tilted upwards ever so slowly. It seemed to take an eternity for the bow to clear the tree tops. There was a scary scraping sound on the upper hull as the trees shifted and branches snapped. Not waiting for any confirmation from Anyssa, Teelana reached to the center console and slammed the engine throttles to the forward stops. It took a moment for the signal to reach the engine computers in the rear, but when it did, the roar through the open hatches in the cargo hold confirmed she had power up.

The scraping and snapping on the upper hull intensified as the trunks slid to the rear, passed the tipping point, and fell off the back of the ship. The sudden loss of mass caught Teelana by surprise and the _Ladyhawke_ surged forward out of control for several frightening moments. Teelana retarded the throttles and steered the ship back around toward the rock outcropping.

General Hammond dropped the remaining battle drone in range of their position with a tight group of laser bolts to the head. Seeing that the other Guardians had shifted their fire and were now unleashing a ferocious attack on the Horde machines pressing toward the rocks, Hammond turned his attention to his fallen companion.

"How is he?" Hammond said to Frost.

"He's busted up pretty bad, sir," the corporal responded.

"I can make it!" Adrian wheezed, wracked with pain. "I can make it!"

_Ladyhawke_ exploded from the forest and roared away for a heart-stopping moment before leveling out and turning back.

Hammond turned to the Quaedian, who still harassing the Horde with well-aimed laser fire. "Dhalon! Time to go!" the general barked. He turned his attention to getting Adrian on his feet.

Frost took Adrian's left arm across his shoulders which Hammond took the right arm. Adrian groaned, grunted, and cried out in pain at each slight movement. Tears filled his eyes from the pain, but he struggled to stay conscious at least until they got into the _Ladyhawke_.

The bounty hunter ship bursting from the forest was the signal that it was time to leave. It was a fortuitous event because at that moment, Captain Graza received a message from the _Logoss_ to return. By now, the dropships and the _Eternia_ were all monitoring the same comm channel thanks to Anyssa.

"Earth forces, I have just received the recall order from the _Logoss_. The Horde warships are disabled and the way is clear for us to leave the area before reinforcements arrive, but we have to go now."

Captain Majourny acknowledged the transmission and began recalling her forces. The _Eternia_ had been cruising at a sedate pace down the river valley to catch the Horde from behind. Jo-jo planned to fire on them only when the time came to pull out. With the recall order sounded from the battlestar, Lieutenant Denton opened up with all available guns.

The first targets to be obliterated were the remaining mobile gun platforms and the mobile artillery units. Ventral quad guns pounded the carriers as the _Eternia_ passed overhead to rendezvous with the dropships, who were engaged in picking up the ground forces. The four Guardians were way over to the left near the extraction point for the _Ladyhawke_ where they had turned back a Horde flanking maneuver. There appeared to be a brief pause in the withdrawal as if one of them was unsure of where to go. Feril solved the issue by putting her dropship nearly on its belly close to the Guardians and stringently order them aboard.

The dropships lifted off with such synchronous precision, Jo-jo would have suspected they had practiced the move. The pilots moved in pairs toward the mothership, continuing to fire their weapons as they lined up with the open bays. Once every round of ammunition was expended, the ship would rise up into the bay to smack soundly into the lift arms to ensure a good connection. At that point, the powerful hydraulic arms pulled the dropships safely up into the bay. Once all four where back in the bays with the APCs and Guardians, _Eternia_ wheeled about and delivered one more strafing run before blasting off for the stars.

Anyssa orbited the landing site where the _Ladyhawke_ had come to rest making sure no stray fighter attempted to ambush her friends. Captain Graza had called out the recall order, but Anyssa refused to leave her friends behind, even though the four-ship Bladewing formation still remained.

Finally, Core Command got involved, but it wasn't the duty officer's voice that came from the speakers. Commander Fontaine ordered, "Scout One, Blue Squadron will escort the _Ladyhawke_ home. Return to base immediately."

Left with no choice, Anyssa aligned with the source of the transmission, and threw the throttles to full power to escape the atmosphere.

"Don't worry, Scout One," Captain Graza assured her, "we'll see to it they come home safely."

"I'll hold you to that, Blue Leader," Anyssa answer tightly.

Graza smiled briefly before getting back to work. She knew Anyssa and her view of the warrior's commitment to friends. Anyssa did not make friends easily and took her friendships very seriously.

The remaining Earth people, and one Quaedian warrior, made their way to the grounded bounty hunter ship. One was clearly injured by the way he was being carried. The Quaedian opened the outer and inner hatches for the trio of humans to rush straight through. Once inside, the hatches were sealed and the ship began to lift off.

"Don't worry about the remaining Horde units," Graza advised the _Ladyhawke_'s pilot. "They have nothing left that can hurt us. Just follow us out and we'll get you back."

"Understood," a female voice replied.

Graza and her wingman led the way over the battlefield and up the river valley. Once they lifted out of the valley and pointed toward space, the Bladewings suddenly had to throttle up to full power to catch up to the _Ladyhawke_. Graza had known the engines had been upgraded, but she had no idea it could give a Bladewing a run for its credits. Graza advised the pilot to slow down a bit so that her squad could form up for escort.

"I have wounded on board. We need to get aboard your ship as quickly as possible," the woman said, her concern plainly evident in her voice. Graza could tell immediately that the pilot was barely holding it together.

"Affirmative," Graza responded. She switched frequencies briefly to advise Core Command of the incoming ship with wounded.

By now, the formation was out of the atmosphere and closing on the battlestar, which was aligned for the jump into hyperspace for home. _Eternia_ was on final approach to the starboard landing bay with Scout One close behind. All the other fighters were already back on board. Only Graza's squad and the bounty hunter ship remained. Blue Two and Four accelerated ahead to line up for landing on the port side landing bay. Blue three soared ahead when her turn to land came up.

Teelana watched the fighters on the sensor board as they made their approach for landing. The outer wings folded down to form the side landing struts. One-by-one, the Bladewings slid into the bay.

"We're the last ones," Captain Graza said.

"I've never done this before," Teelana admitted. She didn't add that she was afraid of hitting the roof of the bay if she approached wrong.

"No problem. Just stay on my tail and I'll take you all the way in," Graza replied. She slid her fighter out in front of the _Ladyhawke_ and took the lead. "Look at the other landing bay. Do you see those two lines of strobe lights?"

Teelana looked and found them after a moment. "Yes."

"Good. You'll see them in a moment after I get far enough ahead of you. Look about one third of the way down the landing bay. Don't fixate on that point, whatever you do. As you approach, let your eyes slide up the landing deck. You will touch down on the point you were initially looking at on approach. And, no, you won't hit anything doing as I just explained. No has ever done that, so don't be the first."

"Right. Got it." Teelana tried her best to ignore what was going on behind her back near the cargo hold. She needed to get this right on the first try. Graza explained where the control for the landing gear should be. She found it low on the center console, next to the lever for the landing struts. Ships like the _Ladyhawke_ were equipped with two sets because one never knew what type of area one would be landing in. Three green lights indicated the strut and roller pads were extended and locked.

The Bladewing was now so far out in front that Teelana had trouble seeing it until it passing into the landing bay. Now it was her turn. Core Command talked to her down the approach corridor, but Teelana ignored it. She concentrated on what the fighter pilot had told her. She suddenly realized that she didn't know the woman's name. It was a strange thought to be having at a time like this.

Eyes sliding up the bay as she approached, Teelana had such a death grip on the control yoke that her knuckles were white. No one was shouting at her to abort the landing and try again, so she pressed on. She didn't notice passing through the atmosphere shield at the end of the bay. Awareness returned when the ship bumped slightly on contact with the deck. Teelana immediately applied the brakes with the foot pedals and activated the forward thrusters to slow down.

_Ladyhawke_ slowed to a halt well short of the mass of Bladewings being serviced in the forward half of the bay.

Commander Fontaine watched the entire operation with clinical interest. A medical team was on its way to meet the _Ladyhawke_ and tend to the wounded on board. She suppressed her anxiety over how long it was taking to get the ship in. She was well aware that no one on that ship had ever shot a landing on a battlestar's decks, and to rush this would end in disaster. The Horde re-enforcements were closing on the system, but the window to get clean away was still open.

"Once the ship is down and secured, jump to hyperspace," Fontaine ordered Colonel Darius.

Darius nodded in acknowledgement. "All fighters are accounted for, and the _Eternia_ reports the same of her people."

The flight controller reported, "_Ladyhawke_ is down and secured. Medical team is responding."

"Helm, get us out of here. Jump when ready," Darius ordered.

_Logoss_, already aligned for home, powered up the hyperdrive. A cloud of bluish electrical energy formed ahead of the battlestar. Tendrils reached out as the ship began to accelerate, latched on, and the warship disappeared in a flash taking the cloud with it.

235


	30. Epilogue

Epilogue

Deep Space

Cilian entered the observation dome and paused. Lord Malkor stood across the chamber staring out at the sea of stars. Work on revitalizing what remained of the fleet was progressing. It had taken on a life of its own so that Lord Malkor could devote more of his time to the current status of the galaxy. The latest report Cilian carried in her hand would add a few more pieces to the puzzle.

"What is the latest news, Cilian?" Malkor asked. His voice echoed in the empty chamber. It was a little unnerving considering that their voices had an echo inherent in their species. And he always knew who was present without looking. Something Cilian had yet to figure out.

"As we suspected, the suits are active. There was another confrontation with this Evil Horde that now rules this galaxy," Cilian answered, walking soundlessly across the floor to her commander's side. The ages spent in hyper sleep had done nothing to diminish her warrior's abilities.

Malkor accepted the data pad she handed over and read the highlights. The experiment had indeed succeeded. In fact, it had gone beyond preliminary expectations. The only problem would be in reclaiming what was rightly theirs.

"Is our best warrior revived yet?" When Cilian did not answer right away, Malkor turned his head slightly to look at her. While her posture did not give away a clue to Cilian's thoughts, there was a brief flash of discomfort in her features. "Ordinarily, I would not hesitate to send you; however, you have become indispensable to me around here. Once we have all our people revived and we are ready to take back the galaxy, I promise you will have more battles then you can stand."

Cilian nodded. "The top three should be revived soon. Shiva will be the first."

"Good. When she has been brought up to speed on our current status, I will have a mission brief for her," Malkor replied, returning his attention to the stars. "We need to know that status of our former warriors and whether they can be made into allies, or if they will be our enemies."

"Yes, M'lord," Cilian said. She turned and left the dome without another word. She could wait to get back into battle, now. If there was one race she did not want to deal with on her own without backup, it was the Val-kyrie.

As Cilian neared the hatch, it suddenly slid aside. Framed in the doorway was a tall, strikingly beautiful woman dressed in simple satin robes as black as her skin. Her red eyes fastened on Cilian without betraying any emotion. Cilian immediately dropped to one knee and fixed her eyes upon the floor. Lord Malkor turned at the sound of the hatch opening, saw who was standing just outside, and followed Cilian's lead.

"Rise, my friends," the woman said softly. Her echoing voice carried across the chamber better than if she had shouted. "We have much more important things to do than observe ceremony. Such things can wait for another time."

Cilian rose, but made no move to leave.

"You have an errand that needs to be performed?" the woman said.

"Yes, Empress," Cilian answered, eyes obverted.

"Then be about it. Do not let ceremony stand in the way of what must be done to safeguard our people," the Empress said mildly.

Bowing to her ruler and lord, Cilian departed hastily.

Bemused, the Empress said, "Don't keep her off the battlefield to too long."

"Once we have restored our people and begin taking this galaxy back from Horde Prime, Cilian will see more battle than she can dream of," Malkor replied. He paused as a message was routed to the data pad in his hand. "The first of the Specials is awake."

"Good," the Empress said. "We must determine the state of the galaxy. I presume that Horde Prime controls most of it by now."

"My first mission for the Specials will be to find out what the Val-kyrie have been up to all this time," Malkor said. "I want to know if they have as long a memory as they said they do. After that, I will learn who the primary warlords are under Horde Prime's command."

The Empress nodded in approval. "The awakening of the battle suits started our revival. We must know if the experiment worked, and whether or not it can be replicated. Our ancient enemy will not wait forever. We must be prepared for when they cross into this galaxy." She turned and walked across the chamber to the doors. They parted when she stepped within range of the sensor.

Malkor suppressed a shudder at the mention of their ancient enemy. "How can you be sure they haven't crossed interstellar space already?"

"If they had, this would now be a dead galaxy."

Realm of the Elders

Null Space

She walked among the ruins of the base with impunity. It was dying just as the planet was, only the base would expire a lot sooner. However, despite the explosions from the installation's death throes there was still plenty of time to accomplish her task.

Finding the command chamber had been the easy part. Waiting for the right moment as the base continued to die around her was something else. Following the target without alerting her was another matter. That was always the problem when tracking creatures of magic. One always knew when another was near if the magic-user was powerful enough. The one she tracked had become more powerful than even she was away, so a certain amount of overkill was in order to protect secrecy.

There was a lot of commotion going on within the commander chamber, but she took no more than a passing interest. And then the target suffered a significant injury; one powerful enough that the pain was broadcast clearly over the distance separating them. This may work out in her favor after all.

Two humans showed up faster than she had expected. She knew right away they were Guardians. Three of them in one place! Remarkable that so many stayed behind just to destroy the garrison, or was there an ulterior motive she wasn't aware of? That might be an avenue worth considering at a later time.

The garrison second in command dashed out of the commander center. He fired several laser bolts behind him and ducked down the side corridor opposite from her hiding place. One of the Guardians gave chase. A stocky man armed with a bulky weapon that fired primitive projectiles barreled around the corner and squeezed off a burst as the fleeing man turned to fire. Although primitive by her standards, the explosive projectiles made short, grisly work of the man.

It was another few minutes before the trio finally left the command center. The explosions were becoming more frequent and more powerful. They were forced to retreat in her direction running right past her shadowed niche to a junction several yards further up the corridor. She knew instinctively that they were heading for higher ground. The reason was not readily clear to her, but it hardly mattered. They would survive. It's what they did.

Now that the command center was clear, it was time to see if she could accomplish her mission. Smoke filled the air and fires raged unchecked in many places. She entered the shattered chamber and searched for the object she wanted. She saw the garrison commander slumped against a console. His life force was gone to wherever mortal beings go when life ended in this existence. Even if he had still been alive, he would have seen only a beautiful woman in white whose features were slightly out of focus as if she walked in a world a bit out of sync with his.

She found the control device Teelana used to rescue the last Ancient library in existence from destruction, though the woman in white had no idea what its purpose was. The device was useless because it did not contain what she was after, so the woman continued her search conscious that time was running out.

At last, she found what she was after laying under the table. Carefully, the intruder got down on her hands and knees and crawled under the table to retrieve the object. Brought out into the flickering light, the intruder found what she had been tasked to bring back. The object contained the perfect item for their needs. It might have a touch of contamination from the environment, but that could be easily filtered out.

She was out of time. The base was in its final death throes. The intruder sensed the departure of the three Guardians; it was time for her to leave, as well. Magical energies flowed and coalesced in a white oval portal pulsing with energy. Carrying the item gingerly, she stepped through without hesitation, arriving instantaneously back in her familiar realm. The world on the other side suddenly turned blindingly bright as the fusion reactors powering the Ancient atmosphere processor exploded. The magic portal disappeared at the instant of detonation ensuring none of the lethal radiation leaked through.

Now safe in her home, the woman still cradled the item with care as she strode purposely through the labyrinth to find the others. While their numbers had grown over the ages, the original core group still met in secret. There were nine in all, including herself, though she had no idea what the item was needed for.

The woman found the others right where she expected them to be. No one knew about this chamber except those who created it, and with her arrival they were now all present and accounted for.

"Ah, Azurra. You have returned safely. Did you find something suitable for our purpose?" Validos inquired dispassionately. Like his fellows, Validos wore white robes. They stood out in stark contrast to the blackness around them.

"Yes," Azurra answered, holding out the knife she had retrieved from the now destroyed Horde base.

"You wounded her?"

"No. She was wounded in a confrontation with the garrison commander and his exec," Azurra replied. "I am not sure how it happened, but that is of no consequence. You now have what you wanted, though I fail to understand what good it will do us."

Spotlights illuminated sophisticated equipment a short distance away. Some of the items Azurra recognized, while the purpose of other pieces were a complete mystery. Validos took the knife and walked over to the first circle illuminating a bank of computers. The others followed close behind.

"This will allow us to get events back on track. With this sample we shall return history to its proper course," Validos proclaimed. He placed the knife under a scanner, activated the computers, and began the work.

It would take a lot of time to complete, but here in their realm, time was in abundance because it didn't work the same here as it did outside of their domain. When the time was right, Validos would enact the plan that would allow them to manipulate the coming storm as they saw fit to make their plan for the galaxy a reality.

End Book Three

240


End file.
